


New Worlds

by charming_angel



Series: New Worlds [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who (2005), Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, Supernatural, Torchwood, True Blood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-09-18
Updated: 2012-07-25
Packaged: 2017-10-23 20:42:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 70,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/254777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charming_angel/pseuds/charming_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <img/><p><span class="u">Title</span>: New Worlds<br/><b><span class="u">Rating</span>:</b> M<br/><b><span class="u">Genre</span>:</b> crossover, mostly het<br/><b><span class="u">Fandoms</span>:</b> Buffy, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Torchwood & True Blood/Southern Vampire Mysteries (Legend of the Seeker guest starring)<br/><b><span class="u">Characters</span>:</b> Faith Lehane, Dean Winchester, Jack Harkness, the tenth Doctor, Dawn Summers, Sam Winchester, Buffy Summers, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, Willow Rosenberg, Ruby, Eric Northman and several guest stars<br/><b><span class="u">Pairings</span>:</b> Faith/Dean, some Faith/Jack, Dawn/Sam, Buffy/Eric, Martha/Jack, Doctor/Rose<br/><b><span class="u">Summary</span>:</b> After finding a lost woman from another universe the Doctor finds a way to travel to other realities (fandoms) safely. Trying to get her home he picks up some new (and old) companions.<br/><b><span class="u">Warnings</span>:</b> Some canon characters are dead in certain realities. But they might be alive in other realities. So no one is gone for good... ;-)<br/><b><span class="u">Disclaimer</span>:</b> I don’t own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did… *g* I don’t make any money with this! I’m just writing the story for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.</p><p>The story will be written from different points of view. This way thoughts can be included for several characters and a better inside into the character is possible.</p><p>I’m German and my English isn’t and probably never will be perfect. I hope I don’t make too many mistakes. Feel free to point out errors so I can learn and improve.</p><p>I didn’t have a beta reader for the first chapters of the fic, so there probably are still some mistakes. Feel free to point them out so that I can correct them and improve my English.</p><p>
  <b><span class="u">About the story</span>:</b>
</p><p>The Doctor finds a way to travel between universes (realities). Different fandoms are different realities. The only exceptions are Buffy/Angel and Supernatural. For the purpose of my story I’m assuming they are set in the same world. I know there are differences in these shows, like the vampires for example. Since all this is AU I’m just going to dismiss the differences. In my Buffy/Angel/Supernatural world there are different kinds of vamps/demons, etc. Buffy & co simply met different ones than Sam & Dean. ;-)</p><p>The Doctor is going to travel and pick up people from different realities. I think the TARDIS is big enough for a lot of companions. *g*</p><p>As not everyone will know every character and fandom I will add some icons and other fanart throughout the story, so you know what the characters look like. All fanart is made by me unless otherwise stated.</p><p><span class="u">Timeline & other facts:</span><br/>All Buffy characters come from about 3 years after the Angel finale/4 years after the Buffy finale. This is AU for the comics.<br/>There is a slayer school in Cleveland now, where another hellmouth is located.<br/>Faith has been training Dawn for a while and they became friends.<br/>While checking out some demonic activity Faith & Dawn met Sam & Dean Winchester. Faith & Dean immediately hit it off. That gave Sam & Dawn time to get to know each other and fall in love. They however didn’t admit that and split up. Sam & Dean went on travelling through the US while Faith & Dawn went back to Cleveland.</p><p>The Whoverse characters come from after Planet of the Dead/Children of Earth.</p><p>Eric comes from an AU version of the books. In this AU world Sookie died in Dead and Gone. About a year has passed since then.</p><p>Milerna (on lj) made an awesome intro video for this fanfic. Here it is for all of you to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnqM8DkN95U</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. reunions

**Author's Note:**

> Title: New Worlds  
>  **Rating :** M  
>  **Genre :** crossover, mostly het  
>  **Fandoms :** Buffy, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Torchwood & True Blood/Southern Vampire Mysteries (Legend of the Seeker guest starring)  
>  **Characters :** Faith Lehane, Dean Winchester, Jack Harkness, the tenth Doctor, Dawn Summers, Sam Winchester, Buffy Summers, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, Willow Rosenberg, Ruby, Eric Northman and several guest stars  
>  **Pairings :** Faith/Dean, some Faith/Jack, Dawn/Sam, Buffy/Eric, Martha/Jack, Doctor/Rose  
>  **Summary :** After finding a lost woman from another universe the Doctor finds a way to travel to other realities (fandoms) safely. Trying to get her home he picks up some new (and old) companions.  
>  **Warnings :** Some canon characters are dead in certain realities. But they might be alive in other realities. So no one is gone for good... ;-)  
>  **Disclaimer :** I don’t own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did… *g* I don’t make any money with this! I’m just writing the story for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.
> 
> The story will be written from different points of view. This way thoughts can be included for several characters and a better inside into the character is possible.
> 
> I’m German and my English isn’t and probably never will be perfect. I hope I don’t make too many mistakes. Feel free to point out errors so I can learn and improve.
> 
> I didn’t have a beta reader for the first chapters of the fic, so there probably are still some mistakes. Feel free to point them out so that I can correct them and improve my English.
> 
> **About the story :**
> 
> The Doctor finds a way to travel between universes (realities). Different fandoms are different realities. The only exceptions are Buffy/Angel and Supernatural. For the purpose of my story I’m assuming they are set in the same world. I know there are differences in these shows, like the vampires for example. Since all this is AU I’m just going to dismiss the differences. In my Buffy/Angel/Supernatural world there are different kinds of vamps/demons, etc. Buffy & co simply met different ones than Sam & Dean. ;-)
> 
> The Doctor is going to travel and pick up people from different realities. I think the TARDIS is big enough for a lot of companions. *g*
> 
> As not everyone will know every character and fandom I will add some icons and other fanart throughout the story, so you know what the characters look like. All fanart is made by me unless otherwise stated.
> 
> Timeline & other facts:  
> All Buffy characters come from about 3 years after the Angel finale/4 years after the Buffy finale. This is AU for the comics.  
> There is a slayer school in Cleveland now, where another hellmouth is located.  
> Faith has been training Dawn for a while and they became friends.  
> While checking out some demonic activity Faith & Dawn met Sam & Dean Winchester. Faith & Dean immediately hit it off. That gave Sam & Dawn time to get to know each other and fall in love. They however didn’t admit that and split up. Sam & Dean went on travelling through the US while Faith & Dawn went back to Cleveland.
> 
> The Whoverse characters come from after Planet of the Dead/Children of Earth.
> 
> Eric comes from an AU version of the books. In this AU world Sookie died in Dead and Gone. About a year has passed since then.
> 
> Milerna (on lj) made an awesome intro video for this fanfic. Here it is for all of you to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnqM8DkN95U

**A planet somewhere in the universe:**

Another shot was placed in front of Captain Jack Harkness. He glanced at it with a frown, then grabbed and downed it. He wasn’t sure how many he already drank. He didn’t care either. All he wanted to do was forget. He knew it wouldn’t last. It never did. On most days he had learned to live with it. But today… it were exactly 10 years now, 10 years since he basically killed his grandson. 

He gestured to the bartender, who looked rather hot, even though his skin was purple and he had horns. Well, maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that Jack had never cared about gender or species. Maybe he should change his strategy. A little flirt and hopefully more should take his mind off his past, shouldn’t it? He placed a fake smile onto his lips and winked the bartender over. Then someone sat down next to him.

“Oh no, he’s got enough,” a voice said. The bartender just nodded and turned away, but Jack didn’t have time to feel disappointed. Instead he turned to his left. The first true smile in years appeared on Jack’s face at the sight of the man next to him. But it disappeared just as quickly. There was no reason to feel happy, none at all.

“What, no hug? Not even a hello?” the Doctor asked raising an eyebrow. When he heard what happened he had decided to give Jack some time. Just going after him wouldn’t have done any good. Jack had to get some distance. Now about 10 years had passed for Jack, but the man still didn’t look cheerful at all. There had been the hint of a smile when he first saw him, but that was it. There was no happy reunion with one of Jack’s warm embraces. Instead he turned away again.

“Still, brooding, I see,” the Doctor said before ordering something to drink.

Jack glanced at the Doctor briefly and sighed. So he knew. Well, he hadn’t really expected him not to. The universe was big. The chances of the Doctor accidentally showing up here, on this godforsaken excuse of a planet, were rather slim. Jack had picked the planet for exactly that reason. No one in their right mind would come to this planet on purpose, so the risk of meeting someone he knew would be slim.

“Haven’t had any reason to be cheerful in a while.”

The Doctor nodded. He knew the feeling well. There wasn’t really much to be happy about in his life either. It probably was why he tried to enjoy every single good thing. But lately it got harder and harder. Losing Donna and letting Rose go really had taken its toll on him.

“Me neither. How about we brood together?” he suggested with a slight smirk.

Jack glanced at the Doctor surprised. The last time he saw him the Doctor had had every reason to be happy. He had gotten Rose back and they were off to new adventures.

“What happened? Where are Rose and Donna?” Maybe Donna decided to go back home, but Jack was sure that Rose never would. She had managed to come back from another universe so she could be with the Doctor. If she wasn’t here, and if the Doctor didn’t have much reason to be cheerful, like he said, something bad must have happened. Jack sighed, wishing he had ordered another shot. He was pretty sure that he wouldn’t get any good news. But why should he? It wasn’t like he deserved it.

The Doctor stared ahead, his eyes fixed on a far away point. He knew these questions would come, but he still wasn’t really prepared to answer. Well, he had come to look for Jack, so it was his own fault.

“Donna is back with her family. The timelord consciousness was too much for her brain. She couldn’t take it, so I had to erase her memories. She doesn’t remember ever meeting me.” He sighed. He missed Donna a lot. She had been so cheerful and funny. She had a good heart, too. She made the perfect companion. 

Jack turned to the Doctor. That was horrible, not being able to remember everything you saw out there while traveling with the Doctor. He really wouldn’t wish that on anyone. He however wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t prefer to forget his own past.

“I’m sorry,” he said silently.

The Doctor just nodded, not willing to say anything else about it.

“Rose is back in the other reality, with her family and the other me… you know, the one who grew out of my hand.” He glanced at his hand absent-mindedly.

“She’s what?” Jack asked surprised and stared at the Doctor. “She went back to that other reality willingly?” Somehow Jack had a hard time believing that. And what were the odds of accidentally getting stranded there again?

“Well… I took her there. She stayed.” Rose didn’t seem happy about the idea at first, but she realized what he was giving her. She could have her family and him. Well, sort of… She could even have a better version of him, one that would age with her and could spend his whole life with her. It was what she deserved. Of course she wanted that. It was only natural. She had to choose him. 

The Doctor sighed. It was what he kept telling himself over and over again. It wasn’t her fault either. He had been the one to suggest it in the first place. What else was he supposed to do? He wanted only the best for her. And besides, sooner or later she would have chosen the other one anyway. It was the logical thing to do, taking himself out of the picture right away. 

“That’s it? She just decided to stay there after she tried so hard to come back?” It still didn’t make sense to Jack.

“She came back for me. She has me now… sort of.”

Jack frowned. “But…”

The Doctor didn’t let him finish. He turned to Jack and for a moment Jack could see all the pain and sorrow in the Time Lord’s eyes. 

“She’s gone. And it’s better that way. You of all people should understand that.”

Jack blinked and looked away. Yes, he did. The other Doctor was half human. He’d be able to age just like Rose. They had a future together. It was what was best for Rose. Jack had a feeling that the Doctor had helped Rose a little in making that decision. But he didn’t say anything. The Doctor surely didn’t want to talk about it. And Jack understood pretty well. He was immortal after all. Relationships between mortals and immortals never worked out. The Doctor might not be immortal, but he was a Time Lord and could regenerate. He would definitely outlive Rose.

Jack was suddenly reminded of Gwen. He had sort of done the same thing with her. He knew there was more between them than friendship. But he kept pushing her away. She was better off with Rhys. He was a normal and nice guy. They had a future together.

“I understand,” he finally said.

They sat there in silence for a while, then the Doctor stood up.

“Come on, let’s go. I really don’t like this planet.”

Jack turned to the Doctor and smirked slightly. “What’s not to like?”

“It… well, it smells, real bad. And you know, timelord noses are a lot more sensitive than human ones.” He pointed at Jack’s nose.

Jack actually had to laugh at that. It really was good to see the Doctor again. Besides, he was tired of being alone all the time. And who’d better understand him than the Doctor? He had been through enough terrible things in his life as well.

“Oh come on. I’m getting tired of talking to myself all the time, and the TARDIS is way too big for just myself,” the Doctor said and glanced at Jack sheepishly.

“What, no new companion?” Jack asked teasingly. He had never seen the Doctor travel alone.

“Nope, but we could change that…”

A small smile appeared on Jack's face. Maybe things would finally get better again? He wasn’t sure if he deserved that, but what good would it do if he continued to hide and brood? He couldn't undo the past, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Well, I kind of miss the TARDIS.”

The Doctor chuckled slightly. There he was, the Jack he knew and loved. Underneath all the pain and sadness his friend was still lurking, waiting to come back out.

“Come on then, before I change my mind.”

Jack stood up, stepped towards the Doctor and hugged him, a smile appearing on his face.

“It’s good to see you again, old friend.”

The Doctor grinned and hugged Jack back happily. He did feel a lot better already and hopefully Jack felt the same way.

\----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 

**Cleveland - earth / another reality:**

Faith’s eyes widened as something appeared in the air and started to grow. The demons, they were doing something. She kicked the one in front of her and punched it in the face, breaking its nose, or what should be a nose. It definitely didn’t look like a nose! 

Damn, it was still growing and wind was appearing out of nowhere, circling the growing… hole. Was it a hole? A portal maybe? Oh crap, please not a portal! Then Faith saw a demon push Dawn towards it.

“Dawn,” she screamed and rushed forward, pushing a demon out of the way.

As Faith sprinted forward she noticed that stuff, that was lying around, like leaves and trash, were being sucked into the portal. It would suck Dawn in, too. She was stumbling backwards and was almost in front of the now human-sized black hole.

In the last second Faith reached Dawn and pushed her away with all her slayer strength. Then she felt a tugging feeling and got sucked towards the portal. She tried to hold on to something, but there was nothing there.

“Faith! Nooo!”

Dawn’s scream was the last thing Faith heard before everything went silent. The portal was in front of her now and then disappeared. With it went all the air. 

Faith couldn’t breathe anymore. There was no air, no gravity and nothing but darkness. As her eyes adjusted Faith noticed that there were small lights after all. It looked a bit like a night sky. Turning around her eyes widened. There was a planet. A planet! She was in space.  
Well, she hadn’t expected that. A hell dimension maybe, but not this! And she definitely hadn’t expected to die in space. 

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Jack slammed the TARDIS door shut just as something hit it from the other side. 

“We’re so out of here,” he called to the Doctor.

“Don’t like the locals?” the Doctor asked with a smirk.

“How am I supposed to know that flirting is a crime here?” Jack objected as he walked towards the Doctor who was working on the console.

“I think they didn’t like the idea of group-sex.”

“I wasn’t even suggesting that!” Jack exclaimed and then shrugged.

The Doctor chuckled. Jack was almost back to his old self. They were traveling together for a week now and the constant adventure and running was lifting his spirit considerably. It did the same to him. It was definitely a good idea to pick up his old companion.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” the Doctor stated. Then an alarm went off.

“Oh no, don’t tell me something is wrong. I’m not staying here,” Jack whined and pointed at the door.

“The TARDIS is fine,” the Doctor said looking a little puzzled. “It picked something up. Something… odd.”

“Odd?” Jack asked.

“Weird, unusual,…”

“I get it. But what is it?”

“I have no idea,” the Doctor stated. “Let’s check it out. It’s in orbit of this lovely planet.”

Jack snorted and grabbed onto the console as the TARDIS shook slightly.

A few moments later they were hovering in space just above the planet. The Doctor pressed a few buttons and the screen came to life. 

“It’s a person!” Jack exclaimed while looking over the Doctor's shoulder.

The Doctor stared at the screen. How did a person get here? There were no spaceships anywhere near this part of the galaxy.

“Go get her,” he then exclaimed.

Jack didn’t have to be told twice. He rushed towards the door and opened it. There she was, floating in space just a few inches away.

“Don’t hit her,” he called to the Doctor.

“My flying skills are way beyond that,” the Doctor answered while maneuvering the TARDIS closer to the woman and expanding the TARDIS shield a little at the same time.

Jack held onto the TARDIS with one hand while leaning out of the ship and grabbing for the woman’s arm with his other hand.

“Got her,” he then muttered as he pulled her into the ship.

The Doctor let go of the console and rushed over to them as Jack knelt over the woman.

“She’s got a pulse, but it’s faint,” Jack stated.

He quickly started reanimation. It took a few moments, but then the woman sucked in air and started to breathe on her own again.

Faith tried to catch her breath while looking around. There were two men there and she was no longer in space, which was a good thing. Her eyes then fixed on the guy leaning over her. He was definitely hot.

“Hey, I prefer to have a say in who I’m kissing,” she stated with a smirk once her breathing had slowed down.

Jack chuckled and grinned at the young woman. She was definitely good looking and had something about her. He liked her already.

“Alright, I’m gonna ask next time,” he answered while getting up and holding a hand out to her.

Faith took the hand and got up gracefully. “Is there gonna be a next time?” she asked in a flirty manner.

Jack grinned. Oh yes, he did like her! “If you’re lucky,” he answered with a promising smile.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Don’t mind me, if you two want to get a room,” he stated.

Jack glanced at the Doctor and shrugged.

“So, want to tell me where we are?” Faith then asked glancing around. The room looked a little weird.

“Sure. We’re still in space and this is my ship, the TARDIS,” the Doctor said with a gesture.

“A spaceship? You’re kidding,” Faith answered. Well, it wasn’t that far off, as she had been in space. How else would anyone be able to rescue her?

“I’ve never been on a space ship,” she muttered. Then her gaze fell on the still open door behind her.

“Woah,” she exclaimed walking closer and looking out into space.

The doctor watched her curiously. She was never on a space ship? Well, that confirmed the TARDIS readings that there were no ships in the area. But how did she get here if not on a ship? He narrowed his brows and then went back to the console. It must have something to do with the occurrence that triggered the alarm.

“Cool, isn’t it?” Jack asked as he peered out into space as well.

Faith tore her eyes away from the planet in the distance and turned to look at the man who was standing rather close. She didn’t mind in the least. 

“Shouldn’t the air go right out there?” she then asked gesturing out the door.

“Nope,” Jack stated. “That would be really bad, wouldn’t it?”

Faith just nodded. It definitely would be very bad. Not being able to breathe sucked. 

“The TARDIS' shields are up.”

“Good. But let’s close that door, just in case. I’ve had enough of suffocating for a lifetime.”

Jack smirked as she shut the door.

“I’m Captain Jack Harkness by the way.”

“Faith, nice to meet you Captain,” she said in a flirtatious voice.

“Yes, that’s really nice,” Jack stated stepping even closer. 

“That’s odd,” a voice suddenly exclaimed. Faith and Jack turned around and looked at the Doctor.

“Oh, and that’s the Doctor,” Jack stated as he walked towards the console.

Faith glanced at him. “Just the Doctor?” she asked.

Jack nodded. 

Faith shrugged. The guy didn’t want to tell his name? Fine by her. She didn’t like to tell people her last name either.

“What is it, Doctor?”

The Doctor peered at the screen intensely and went closer, until his nose almost touched the screen.

“Doctor?”

The Doctor straightened up and rubbed the back of his head absent-mindedly.

“There are no ships anywhere near this part of the universe.”

“I can understand that,” Jack stated. He wouldn’t want to come to this planet either.

“Yes, but where did she come from?” the Doctor asked and looked at Faith.

“The name’s Faith. And I came through some sort of portal.”

The doctor frowned. “A portal?”

“Yep, or at least that’s what I think it was. Pulled me in on one end and pushed me out here, right into space. So not a nice place to bring someone without a space suit.”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. A portal? He would have guessed that someone teleported her there by accident. But that was rather unlikely as teleportation devices usually had safety measures. 

“You mean like in the movies? Magical portals?” Jack asked.

Faith nodded while looking at the console curiously. It did look kind of alien.

The Doctor snorted slightly. There was no such thing as magic. Well, there were things that people could think were magic. The Carrionites for example were like witches. 

„You’re not aliens, are you?“ Faith then asked. “I mean, you are from Earth, right?” 

Jack smirked slightly. “Kind of… me at least. Haven’t been on Earth in a while, but I’m human.” Or at least sort of human, he added in thoughts. 

Faith smiled. Then she glanced at the Doctor, who was looking at the screen again.

“He’s not… human, I mean,” Jack added noticing Faith's glance.

“He’s an alien,” Faith stated. “Cool.” He did look human, but Faith had long ago learned that not everything that looked human actually was human.

“Oh,” the Doctor said suddenly. Then he rummaged through his pockets and finally pulled something out. Putting the 3-D glasses on his nose he looked at Faith.

“Right,” he muttered with a frown and looked at his screen again.

“What is it?” Jack wanted to know.

The Doctor handed him the glasses. “Void particles,” he said gesturing at Faith.

Jack put the glasses on and looked at Faith.

“Oh.”

“What does that mean?” Faith asked with a frown.

“It means that you’re from an alternate reality,” the Doctor stated. “What I don’t get is that there is no rip in the universes.”

Faith stared at him. An alternate reality? Well, she guessed that that wasn’t worse than another dimension. 

“But it’s good that there is no rip in the universe, right?” Jack asked.

“Yes, that’s definitely good. I just have no idea how Faith got here from another universe if there is no rip in the universe. It’s just impossible!”

“Maybe it closed itself already.”

“Rips in the universe don’t just close themselves. Someone must have done it.”

“I told you I came through a portal,” Faith said. “It didn’t look anything like a rip, more like a hole – a big sucking hole.”

The Doctor frowned. None of this made any sense. But what he really didn’t get was why the TARDIS alarm went off. Was the TARDIS simply trying to tell them that someone was in space, so they could save her?

Something then came up on the screen.

“What?” the Doctor exclaimed.

Jack stepped next to him and looked at the screen as well. “What is fully charged?” Jack asked when he saw the announcement.

“I have no idea,” the Doctor said and looked at Jack, a confused expression on his face. Then he turned back to the screen and tried to find out.

“Hm, it looks like whatever was charging itself was the reason the alarm went off. It was supposed to let us know that what is needed to charge this specific system can be found right here. I think it’s some kind of energy.”

“So Faith came here together with an unusual kind of energy and the TARDIS used that energy to charge itself?”

“Yes, but it’s not exactly the TARDIS that was charged. It’s just one system, a system that I didn’t even know existed.”

Jack stared at him. “You… what?”

“It’s a big ship…,” the Doctor said defensively. “Let’s check it out properly.”

“When you checked that system, do you think there is a way to get me back home?" Faith asked. Dawn was in trouble after all. 

The Doctor turned to her. “No. Traveling to other realities is extremely dangerous. It could destroy both universes. And besides, we have no idea what reality you came from. You’d probably end up in the wrong one. Sorry.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Buffyverse:**

Dawn was on the ground staring at thin air, where moments ago Faith had disappeared in some sort of portal. The portal had closed and Faith was gone… just gone!

Dawn however didn’t have time to dwell on the thought as a demon came towards her. She pushed herself up, ignoring the pain in her leg. She had no idea how she was supposed to kill both demons that were still alive. She was on her own now and she was no slayer. Faith had taught her how to fight, but she was still just human.

The demon had almost reached her and the second was close behind it, when Dawn suddenly heard a gunshot. The demon in front of her fell to the ground. The other one hissed and turned around. Another gunshot and it fell down, too. Dawn stared at the demons, who luckily seemed to be dead. Then she looked up again and her mouth almost dropped open.

“Sam?”

“Are you okay?” Sam asked as he hurried towards Dawn. “I was afraid I wouldn’t make it in time.”

Dawn just stared at him. It had been months since she last saw Sam. She hadn’t even dared to hope that she would ever see him again, and now he was here, standing right in front of her.

“Dawn?” Sam asked looking concerned.

“I’m okay,” she finally said.

Sam smiled, feeling relieved. Then he stepped forward and hugged her. When he had the vision about Dawn being killed by demons his heart had almost stopped. He couldn’t lose her, too. Losing Dean had been hard enough. He didn’t think he could handle another death. He hardly knew Dawn, but she still meant a lot to him. He always hoped that one day they could be together; maybe after they found a way out of Dean’s contract. But they never did. His brother died and Sam had been a mess since then.

When Sam pulled her into his arms Dawn melted against his body. Putting her arms around him she held on and inhaled his familiar scent. He was really here. She had hoped to see him again every day. She tried to forget him and move on, but she just couldn’t. No other guy was interesting anymore since she met Sam.

Sam’s smile widened when Dawn snuggled closer to him. He had feared that things would be awkward between them or that she didn’t really want to see him again. But it definitely didn’t feel like that. Holding her just felt right. He hadn’t felt that way in a while, especially since Dean died. Nothing had felt right anymore.

He then let go of her. Dawn felt a little disappointed. Being held by Sam felt just right. But now she started to wonder if he just hugged her because he was glad that she was alive. She had no idea if he felt the same way she did. Was he still interested in her?

“What are you doing here?” she then asked.

“Making sure those demons wouldn’t kill you,” he answered.

Dawn smiled. It did sound like he came for her. But how would he know that she was in danger?

“Yeah, thanks for that. You came just in time,” Dawn said. Then she however froze. No, he was not in time!

“Faith,” she muttered and glanced at the spot where Faith disappeared.

“Faith? What about her? Where is she anyway? You shouldn’t go demon hunting alone.”

Dawn turned back to Sam. “She’s gone. I think the demons opened some sort of portal. One of them pushed me towards it. Faith knocked me away. And then… she got sucked in just before it closed,” Dawn told him, her voice quivering slightly.

Sam stared at her. He hadn’t seen Faith in his vision. 

“A portal? What kind of portal?”

“I have no idea. We have to go talk to Giles… and Willow. They’ll know what to do.”

She then pulled her mobile out and took pictures of the dead demons. Giles and Willow would want to know what they looked like. Then she quickly called the slayer school. Someone had to come and get rid of the demons. She didn’t have time to do that now and besides, slayers were a lot stronger anyway.

Sam watched Dawn as she took pictures and asked someone to take care of the mess. She wasn’t freaking out, she took control of the situation. It was what he loved about her. She looked so fragile and innocent, but she was stronger than most women he knew.

Once Dawn was done she took Sam’s hand. 

“Come on, let’s go.” She hadn’t even thought when she took his hand. It was instinctive.

Sam nodded and then led her to the car. Once there he went over to the driver’s side.

Dawn stopped and glanced at him sceptically. 

“Dean let’s you drive the Impala? Where is he anyway?” she asked.

Sam stopped dead and stared at her. Didn’t she know? He had talked to Faith after all. Didn’t she tell Dawn?

“Faith didn’t tell you,” he stated.

“Tell me what?” Dawn asked. Looking at Sam she could tell that something was wrong. Oh god, something terrible must have happened. 

“He’s… Dean is dead,” Sam said and then looked down. He tried to breathe in regularly, but was having difficulties. He so didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t even want to think about it.

Dawn stared at Sam, trying to comprehend what he just said. She must have heard wrong. She had to have heard wrong. Dean couldn’t be dead. Seeing Sam’s face she had known something bad happened, but it couldn’t be that… Tears started to well up in Dawn’s eyes. Then she rushed over to Sam and pulled him into her arms.

Sam wrapped his arms around Dawn once more, holding her close. Somehow that seemed to help. So far nothing had been able to ease his pain about losing his brother and not being able to save him. But being with Dawn helped a little.

“I’m so sorry,” Dawn said as tears started to fall. She didn’t know Dean long, but he already had a special place in her heart. He had been so funny and strong. And he was Sam’s brother! This was so terrible. She knew how close Sam and Dean had been. Sam had to be devastated. It would be as if Buffy died. And she knew exactly what that felt like. Buffy had died after all. She came back, but Dawn didn’t know that at the time.

Dawn then stirred and let go of Sam suddenly.

“We’ll get him back. There has to be a way.”

“I’ve tried everything,” Sam said.

“No. There has to be a way. We just have to find it. Willow… she’ll know. She brought Buffy back.”

Sam stared at her, not sure what Dawn was saying.

“My sister, Buffy… she died a few years ago. Willow found a way to bring her back. She’s a witch, a really powerful one.”

Sam still stared at Dawn. “Your sister came back from the dead?”

“Yes. She died and now she’s alive again. So, there is a way. We just have to find it. We’ll get Dean back.”

Sam could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was possible to come back from the dead after all. But Dean hadn’t just died. He sold his soul and went to hell. Would it be possible to get him back from there? He had no idea, but he’d definitely talk to that witch. A small smile appeared on his face. There was hope now at least.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Dawn managed to give him a small smile. Then she went over to the other side of the car. They had to go and find Willow quickly. They needed her to find a way to bring back Dean and find Faith. Oh god, Faith… No wonder she had been so down and moody lately. Dean meant a lot to her. Of course she would never have admitted that, but Dawn could tell. Dean wasn’t like all the other guys Faith had been with. The way she looked at him had been different. Hopefully they’d be able to get Dean back before they found Faith. It would be a nice surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \----- ---- ----- ----- ----
> 
> That's it for now. I hope you like it. ;-)
> 
> I made some posters or book covers for this fanfic. Here are the ones that fit this chapter:
> 
> picspam:
> 
> Faith, Dawn, Sam & Dean's backstory:
> 
> chapter 1:


	2. getting ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Buffyverse: Slayerschool – Cleveland:**

„You can do it, right? You can bring Dean back?” Dawn asked looking at Willow. She had brought Sam back to the Slayer school and they were talking to Willow now.

“I don’t know, Dawn,” Willow said feeling rather uneasy. She could tell that this was really important to Dawn and the guy she had with her. She wished she could just tell them that she’d be able to help. But she had no idea how. Raising the dead wasn’t that easy. And besides, it wasn’t like the dead necessarily wanted to be brought back. She had learned that after pulling Buffy out of heaven. Buffy had been a mess and needed a long time to readjust.

“You can do it. I know you can,” Dawn insisted. “You brought Buffy back.”

“Yes, but you know I can’t bring anyone back the same way.”

“I know,” Dawn said sighing. Something essential to that spell only existed once; she remembered that.

“You can find another way, can’t you?” Dawn asked in a begging voice. She couldn’t let Sam down.

“I’ll check,” Willow promised, even though she was sceptical. “But I don’t think there is another way.” It wasn’t like she hadn’t checked on ways to bring back the dead before.

Dawn smiled a little.

“Thanks. You’ll find something,” Dawn said.

Willow sighed. She didn’t want to let Dawn down, but she didn’t really want to give her and her friend false hope either.

“Dawn, I’ll check, but I don’t think there is a way. If there was one Tara would be here right now,” she stated and looked sad and vulnerable all of a sudden.

Dawn looked at her and started to feel guilty and stupid. Of course Willow would have brought Tara back if it was that simple. She should have thought of that right away. But she had been so busy worrying about Sam and Dean that it simply slipped her mind.

“I know,” Dawn said silently. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. I’ll try to find a way, if you want me to. But there is something else you should consider. I know that you want Dean back. It’s understandable and normal. The question however is what he would want. Are you sure he’d want to come back?” Willow asked. 

Sam stared at the redheaded witch. So far he had let Dawn do the talking, as she knew Willow. But now he couldn’t stay quiet any longer.

“Of course he’d want that,” he said, sounding more agitated than he had intended to.

Willow turned to look at him. She could understand his outburst. She remembered well how it was to lose Buffy and Tara. All you wanted was to get them back. You couldn’t even think about anything else.

“I know that’s what you think now. It’s what I thought, too, when I brought Buffy back. But you have to try and see it from their perspective.”

“Dean wants to come back,” Sam stated trying to stay calm. Why wouldn’t Dean want to come back? 

Willow sighed. She had the feeling that she wasn’t managing to make her point.

“Okay, I get it. It’s just that pulling someone out of heaven can be hard on…”

Sam’s eyes widened. She was thinking Dean was in heaven. Well, he surely would be under normal circumstances.

“Dean isn’t in heaven.” 

Willow and Dawn both turned to look at him.

“Are you sure? You said Dean was a hunter, a fighter for good. He would surely go to heaven then,” Willow said.

“No, he didn’t. He’s in hell,” Sam stated.

“I tried to tell that to myself as well, when Buffy died. I convinced myself that she was stuck in a hell dimension and I had to save her.”

“I don’t know what happened with Buffy, but I do know what happened when Dean died. He went to hell…”

“You don’t know that,” Dawn said interrupting Sam. The thought of Dean going to hell was unthinkable and frightening. Surely it couldn’t be true. “I’m sure he’s…”

“He’s in hell,” Sam said, sounding really agitated now. “I know that for a fact. He sold his soul to a demon and went to hell. And it’s all my fault.”

Dawn and Willow both stared at him in shock. They didn’t say anything for a while, waiting for him to go on.

“Sam? What happened?” Dawn finally asked when Sam just stared ahead as if he wasn’t really with them anymore.

Sam blinked when he heard Dawn’s voice, trying to get rid of the images that were showing up in his head, images of Dean dying.

“Tell us everything, please,” Willow added. She had the feeling that there was a lot more to this than she had thought, and if she wanted to help she needed to know everything.

Sam sighed. He really didn’t want to talk about it or even think about it. But if he wanted them to help he had to tell them what happened. He took a deep breath and then told them about how he died and how Dean brought him back by selling his soul.

Dawn tensed when Sam told them that he died. The thought of Sam dead made her heart ache and she was starting to have trouble breathing. Only hearing Sam’s voice and feeling his warm hand in hers helped her to calm down and concentrate on his words again.

Once Sam had started the words kept flowing. He told them everything, how it all started, why he died and how Dean sold his soul exactly. Then he added what he had tried so far to bring Dean back. Willow asked a few questions to clarify things and paid close attention. Dawn listened quietly. Sam was glad for that. It also felt kind of good to finally talk about everything. He thought it would make everything worse, but it didn’t. He guessed things couldn’t really get worse anyway.

When Sam was finished Dawn squeezed his hand gently. He had really been through hell. Losing your brother had to be hard enough. But knowing that he went to hell to save you was just horrible.

“It’s not your fault, you know? He did it for you, but there was nothing you could have done to change that and you didn’t make him do it either,” Dawn said trying to make him feel at least a little bit better.

Sam sighed. “I know. But I should have been able to save him. I have to find a way…”

“We will find a way,” Willow promised. She was determined to find a way to save Dean Winchester now. She might not have been able to bring Tara back, but a lot had changed since then. She had learned a lot and was more powerful now. But what was even more important was that she now knew that she had to save someone from hell. With Tara, she always knew that she was in heaven, and once she saw reason and was herself again that had stopped her from continuing to search a way to bring Tara back. She saw what it did to Buffy to be pulled out of heaven, and she loved Tara way too much to do that to her, too.

Sam looked at Willow and could see in her eyes that she meant it. She might have been hesitant before, but she no longer was. Hopefully that meant they really were going to get Dean back.

A knock then came from the door.

“Come in,” Willow said straightening up in her seat.

The door opened and Rupert Giles entered. “Xander said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes. Good that you’re here, Giles. We need your help.”

“Alright, what happened?” Giles asked and then glanced at the young man that was sitting very close to Dawn, holding her hand. Did Dawn have a boyfriend? And if yes what was he doing here?

“We need you to find out anything about these demons,” Willow said gesturing at photos that were lying on her desk. She had printed them out right after Dawn gave them to her.

Giles blinked, tore his eyes away from Dawn and the young man, and went over to pick up the pictures. The guy obviously knew about demons and he could find out more about him later. The demons surely were more important right now.

“Any particular reason?” he asked.

“They opened a portal that sucked Faith in,” Dawn stated.

Giles looked at her shocked. “It… sucked her in? Meaning she is…”

“… gone,” Dawn finished his sentence. “We need to find her.”

“Of course,” Giles stated. They might have had problems with Faith in the past, but she had changed and was one of them now. 

“I’ll get right to work.”

“Maybe Xander could help you. Or some of the slayers,” Willow suggested.

Gilles nodded. “And what will you be doing?” he asked, noticing that she didn’t offer to help. Willow and Faith had their differences, but they were rather close now. He guessed that it had something to do with them both turning evil and coming back from it.

“Me? I’m going to find a way to pull someone out of hell.”

\----- ----- ----- ---- ----

**Whoverse - TARDIS:**

Faith sat on a chair near the console. Jack and the Doctor were somewhere under it, trying to find the strange system. There was nothing Faith could do to help. Slaying demons, staking vamps and generally kicking some ass, that she could do. But if it came to space ships and mysterious systems…. Well, she was useless. And she was stuck in an alternate reality. 

A few years ago Faith would have welcomed the opportunity. A whole new world, a spaceship, an alien, a hot guy and no one that knew about her past. It was kind of perfect. But she had started to make amends back home and made some friends. She was getting along with Buffy. Not that they were real friends. That probably wouldn’t be possible after what happened. But they got along. She had become close with Xander and especially Willow during the year that Buffy and Dawn spend in Italy. She really liked a lot of the new slayers and loved training them, even though she never would have thought that was possible. And then there was Dawn. She came back with Buffy about two years ago, when Wolfram and Hart went crazy in LA. Then they moved to the Slayer school as well. One night Dawn watched her train and Faith offered to teach her, since Buffy didn’t seem willing to do it. She still seemed to want to keep Dawn as far away from anything that she might have to fight. You’d think Buffy had learned from experience that that wasn’t possible. Evil found you whether you wanted it to or not. It didn’t matter if you could fight or not. But if you were prepared you might live longer. At least that was what Faith thought. So she went behind Buffy’s back and started training Dawn. Back then Faith would never have guessed how close she and the younger Summers would get. Buffy eventually realized that Faith hadn’t been completely wrong in training her sister, when Dawn staked two vamps in front of her eyes, instead of being beaten up. 

A smirk appeared on Faith's face at the memories. Then she sighed. Why did she have to end up in another world just when she was starting to like her life? Well, there were things that weren’t so good back home. Dean was gone. The past two months had been really tough for her. It wasn’t like they were a couple. She almost snorted at the thought. Dean wasn’t the type for relationships. Neither was she however. But there had been something about him. He got her, and she felt like she understood him as well. A part of her had definitely hoped to see him again. She even planned to see him again, when she called to invite him and Sam to Dawn’s birthday party. That was when Sam told her. It felt like he hit her, knocking the air right out of her. Nothing had been the same since then. 

Maybe a change would be good. She could start over, leave everything behind. And who knew, some people might actually be glad that she was gone. But others would miss her, right?

Faith sighed. It wouldn’t be easy not to be able to go back home. But she had to focus on the good things. She got a clean slate, Dawn wasn’t stuck here as well, and there was some eye-candy poking out from under the console. A small smile appeared on her lips. Jack definitely made this world look more appealing. There was just something about him. He wasn’t just hot, he was interesting as well. He was the first guy that managed to make her forget Dean for a while, which was a good thing, right? Constantly brooding over a guy she spent 3 days – or better nights - with was kind of pathetic, wasn’t it? He never called either. He probably didn’t even waste a single thought on her after he left. Alright, he was dead. She was allowed to be sad. But she had to move on. Jack seemed like a good start.

“Alright, got it,” the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, pulling Faith out of her thoughts. Then he appeared from under the console. Jack followed soon.

“So, what does it do?” Jack asked.

The Doctor hurried to the screen and pressed a few buttons on the console. “Let me check something first.”

Faith got up and went to stand with the two of them.

“Hah, I was right,” the Doctor exclaimed. He started to explain what the system did, but got an annoyed look from Faith.

“English, please,” she muttered.

“Alright, well, basically this system let’s us travel to other realities,” he explained and grinned.

“But that would endanger the universes,” Jack said.

“No, that’s exactly what this system is for. It makes travelling from one universe to another safe.”

“You’re kidding,” Jack stated and grinned. “That’s great. We could….”

“… try and find a way home for Faith,” the Doctor stated, interrupting Jack and giving him a look.

Jack sighed. He guessed the Doctor really wasn’t in the mood to see Rose again. Then he turned to Faith, who was smiling now.

“Really? You can get me home now?” she asked. And there she was trying to convince herself that coming here was a good thing.

“Well, theoretically. We don’t really know where you came from, but we could at least try without risking to destroy two universes in the process,” the Doctor said grinning.

“You see, that system, it’s brilliant actually. It charges itself from energy that is created when you travel through the void.”

“Which means it charges itself at the same time as it is used,” Jack said.

“Exactly.”

“But why wasn’t it charged when you travelled to that other reality last time?” Jack wanted to know.

The Doctor frowned and then shrugged. “I don’t think it was ever used. It needed to be charged first and it needed more than one travel to do that apparently.”

“So it lay there dormant all that time?”

“I guess so. Where else would it come from?”

They didn’t get the chance to think about it as a mobile started to ring.

“You have a mobile?” Faith asked.

“Sure, you don’t?” the Doctor replied while walking over to his coat and rummaging through its pocket.

Faith snorted. “Sure, but we’re in space… who knows where. How do you get a connection here?”

“We’re in the Andromeda Nebula or Andromeda Galaxy, about 2.5 million light years from earth in this time. And I get a connection everywhere.”

Faith had no idea how that was possible, but had a feeling that the Doctor would start babbling a lot of nonsense again if she asked, so she didn’t. She was about to ask what he meant by ‘in this time’, but in that moment the Doctor finally found his mobile.

“Ha, there it is”, he said and opened it.

Faith smirked. She kind of liked his enthusiastic outbreaks. She then glanced at Jack.

“Is he always like this?”

“Most of the time,” Jack said.

Faith grinned. She had a feeling that she could have ended up in worse places. These people might have a way for her to get back home and she definitely liked them. 

“We’ll be right there,” the Doctor said and shut the phone. Faith had been too distracted to hear what he was talking about.

“Just a quick stop before we head off to another universe…,” the Doctor said and pulled a handle.

The TARDIS started to shake and Faith had to hold on to the console.

“Where to?” she asked.

“Earth, 21st century, London.”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say it like that? 21st century?” she asked. Of course it was the 21st century. There was no need to point it out.

Jack frowned. He really wasn’t in the mood to go back to earth. It brought back unwanted memories that he had managed to bury quite well over the past week. He then glanced to Faith when she spoke.

“The TARDIS goes anywhere in space and time.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No,” the Doctor said and winked at her.

“Really? You’ve got a time machine?”

Jack chuckled, forgetting his worries for the moment. Then the TARDIS landed already. He guessed there was no way back now.

“Who called?” he then asked. Maybe he could just stay in the TARDIS.

“And old friend,” the Doctor said mysteriously and grinned. Then he rushed towards the door and opened it.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Whoverse: London – earth – 2009:**

Martha Jones put her mobile back into her jacket pocket and sighed. The connection had been bad somehow, but she was sure the Doctor said he’d be right there. Hopefully he wouldn’t accidentally mess up and arrive in a year from now or something. She really didn't want to wait that long.

She had barely finished that thought when she heard a familiar noise and a breeze started to appear out of nowhere. A small smile appeared on her face, despite everything. Then she saw the TARDIS materialize a few feet away.

The door opened and the Doctor stepped out, grinning at her.

“Martha Jones,” he called and opened his arms wide.

Martha smiled briefly and rushed into his arms. As the Doctor wrapped his arms around her Martha started to relax. At the same time her eyes became a little watery. Then a voice interrupted the reunion.

“Martha Jones… voice of a nightingale.”

Martha blinked surprised and let go of the Doctor. Then she stepped to the side. There he was, standing right in front of the TARDIS, looking just like he always had… as if nothing happened. 

“Jack,” she breathed silently. When she called the Doctor she so hadn’t expected to see Jack again. He had disappeared after the incident with the 456. Gwen told her what happened later and informed her that Jack left the planet about a month ago. She didn’t think that he’d come back so soon. She didn’t even know if she’d ever see him again.

Jack watched as Martha stopped and just looked at him. She knew. He was sure of it. Gwen must have told her what happened. Or maybe everyone at UNIT knew what happened that day. He sighed and looked down slightly, unable to meet her gaze. What if she hated him for what he did? He however didn’t have time to wonder much longer as Martha rushed forward and threw her arms around him.

A smile appeared on Jacks face as he wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re back,” Martha said silently as she held onto Jack. 

“Just visiting actually,” Jack said as he held her.

Faith stood in the TARDIS door, watching the happy reunion. This woman obviously meant a lot to the Doctor and Jack. She didn’t really like the way Jack held her, but pushed those feelings away. Jealousy was a nasty trait. She knew that well. It was one of the reasons she turned evil. She never wanted to go there again, which was why she worked hard on her jealousy and envy issues. Besides, she didn’t even know the woman. Starting with negative feelings towards her wouldn’t be nice, would it?

Martha let go of Jack again and looked up at him. She really wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t expected to see him and anyway, what did you say to someone who lost his lover and had to sacrifice his own grandson a day later to save millions of other children? She couldn’t even imagine how much pain he was in. And still he was smiling down at her. How did he do that?

“Faith, this is our friend Martha Jones,” the Doctor then said and Martha noticed for the first time that a young woman was standing inside the TARDIS door.

“Martha, meet Faith…” He didn’t know her last name yet and looked at Faith questioningly.

“Just Faith,” she said and stepped forward to shake Martha’s hand.

“New companion?” Martha asked while shaking Faith's hand.

“Actually we just met. We’re trying to get Faith home,” the Doctor explained. 

“Going somewhere?” Jack then asked and gestured at Martha’s bag that was lying on the ground a few feet away.

Martha glanced at her bag and sighed. She had gotten so lost in the moment that she completely forgot her reason for calling the Doctor. What a nice moment. She wished she could forget about it altogether.

“Yes.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at her short answer. Somehow her demeanor had changed as well. Something was wrong.

“Anywhere specific?” Jack asked.

“Not really. Anywhere but here is fine.” She then glanced at the Doctor.

The Doctor was a little surprised at that. He thought Martha had called him because she needed his help with some alien problem. But now he had the feeling that it was something else. The way she looked at him confirmed that. Something had happened, but it didn’t look like Martha was willing to talk about it. Not right now at least.

“Need a ride?” he asked.

Martha smiled at him slightly. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

The Doctor went towards the TARDIS and held the door open for her. Martha was about to get her bag when she noticed that Faith had already picked it up and was smiling at her now. She turned around and entered.

Stepping into the TARDIS Martha did feel a little better. She really missed the TARDIS.

“Sounds like someone is happy that you’re back,” the Doctor stated as he walked inside.

Faith raised an eyebrow at that and glanced at Jack.

“The TARDIS… her music changed,” Jack said. It was the same when he came back. The ship really did like them. 

Faith had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

Seeing Faith’s confused look Jack added: “She’s alive.” He patted the TARDIS wall slightly. 

“Really?"

“Really.”

Faith’s eyes widened and she looked around the room again. She then noticed the humming sound. She had heard it before, but didn’t pay much attention to it. It really had changed. It was even more enjoyable now and somehow soothing at the same time.

Martha smiled and patted the console slightly. “It’s good to be back.”

The Doctor grinned and stepped to the console.

“Alright, let’s go. ‘Anywhere but here’ is waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poster / book cover for this chapter:
> 
>  
> 
> picspam for this chapter:


	3. opening the hellmouth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Buffyverse – Cleveland - Slayerschool:**

„You what?“ Giles asked shocked. He must have heard wrong. Willow couldn’t actually plan on doing that.

“I’m going to open the hellmouth to get Dean Winchester out of hell,” Willow said once more.

“You can’t actually want to do that.”

“I don’t want to do it. But it’s the only way.” Willow sighed. She knew that it was a crazy idea. But she didn’t have another one.

“It’s way too dangerous. What if something else escapes? You could doom the entire world.”

Willow looked at Giles, feeling a little uneasy. She knew that it was dangerous. She wished there was another way.

“Giles…”

“You can’t do it. And you don’t even know the guy.”

“But Dawn does. She cares about him. Faith cares about him. But that’s not all. He was a hunter. He risked his life every day to save this world. He traded his life for his brothers.”

“He sold his soul. If you ask me he got what he…”

“Giles, no one deserves to go to hell!” Willow looked at the watcher a little angry now. She had the feeling that she knew what hell was like. After Tara died and she turned evil she felt like she was in hell. The pain was so bad that it made her completely mad. If it was only half as bad in hell she didn’t wish it on anyone, especially not on a good person.

Giles sighed. “Of course not,” he said. He didn’t want to leave a good person in hell either, but the risk was just too high.

“I can do this Giles. I’m just going to open it long enough so you can pull him out with this spell,” Willow said gesturing at the spell book on her desk.

“If anything escapes…”

“The slayers will be there to kill it.”

“You’re risking their lives, too.”

“It’s completely voluntary. Noone has to do it.”

Giles sighed. He could tell that Willow was set on doing this. He had no idea why she felt so strongly about this, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to manage to change her mind.

“Alright, I’ll do it. But I think you’re completely insane.”

Willow looked at him relieved. They could probably do it without Giles, but she’d feel better if he was on board.

“What makes you so sure that the guy will even be alive when we pull him out?” Buffy asked.

Willow turned around and noticed that Buffy was standing in the door. She hadn’t heard her come.

“He didn’t really die like other people. He was dragged to hell. So he shouldn’t be dead when he comes back,” Willow said. She wasn’t sure if she was right, but she’d worry about that once they got there.

“I hope you’re right,” Buffy answered. She had a bad feeling about this. They were supposed to close the hellmouth for good, not open it. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up at the thought. But Dawn had asked her to help, so she would do it. If it was her own decision she’d rather lock Dawn up than go with her to open the hellmouth, but she had learned that forcing Dawn to do things just drove her away. The way Dawn was talking about this Buffy had the feeling that she might lose Dawn for good if she stopped her. So her only other option was going with her to try and keep her alive.

Giles agreed with Buffy. This was way too uncertain for his liking. But they’d do it anyway and if he stayed out of it and someone died he’d never forgive himself for not being there to at least try to help.

“You know, while we’re at it… isn’t there anything we could throw down into the hellmouth?” Buffy then asked.

“Like what?” Willow wanted to know. “A bomb or something?”

“That might just open the hellmouth wider,” Giles objected.

Buffy shrugged. “Not a bomb then. But there has to be something that would be… you know, bad for the bad guys.”

Giles glanced at Buffy. “You’re right. There must be something. I’ll check the books.”

“You have three hours. Then we’re leaving,” Willow said.

“If you don’t find anything I’ll just take some holy water along,” Buffy said with a wink.

The others looked at her.

“What? It might hit an ubervamp or something.”

Willow smirked. She was definitely glad that Buffy was on board with this.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Buffyverse – Cleveland - about three hours later:**

Dawn was standing outside the slayer school with Sam, holding his hand. She was feeling anxious, but being with Sam helped.

Sam looked down at Dawn. He could hardly believe what she and her friends were willing to do for him and Dean. Most of them didn’t know Dean at all and just met him. Dawn hardly knew him either. But here she was, willing to risk everything to help. 

“Thank you,” he said.

“What for?” Dawn wanted to know. “We haven’t done anything yet and it might not work out.” It was what Dawn feared the most, that they would fail and everything would have been for nothing. People might die today, people she cared about.

“For trying. It means a lot to me that you want to help,” Sam said. “You know, Dean and I often thought we were alone in all of this, that there were so many evil creatures in the world and almost nothing good standing in its way. But we were wrong. We’re not alone.”

“No, you’re not,” a voice said from behind them. “You have a whole army on your side.”

Sam turned around to see Dawn’s sister Buffy stepping towards them. Behind her were a lot of young women.

Dawn smiled as she saw Buffy. 

Buffy returned the smile and then nodded at Sam. She didn’t really know him, but she definitely knew what he was talking about. 

“I often felt the same way. There were just me and a few friends who tried to stop evil from taking over. But thanks to Willow that changed.” She gestured to the other slayers. Buffy did feel sorry for them. She wished they could all live normal lives and have fun. But she was also thankful for the help. And what good would it do these girls to be normal if evil won and took over?

A small smile appeared on Sam’s face as he saw the group of people that was still getting bigger. He had heard what Dawn and Willow said earlier. They told everyone that this was very dangerous and completely voluntary. Noone had to come along, but so many did. Then he saw a smaller group standing to their left, a bit apart from the rest.

“They are the ones who will stay back,” Buffy said noticing Sam’s look.

“Most of them wanted to come. But someone has to stay behind, incase we fail”, Dawn explained. 

“And let even more demons lose on the world”, Sam added silently. 

Then he saw Willow coming towards them. Something was hovering over her shoulder and it was glowing. It was bright daylight, but somehow whatever that was, was still brighter.

“What’s that?” Buffy asked as her friend joined her.

“My version of holy water,” Willow answered with a smirk. “I actually put some holy water in it though.”

Buffy laughed. “Good.”

“Yes, it really was a good idea. We’re not just letting something behind; we can actually trade this for Dean. I found a way more powerful spell to get Dean out, but it requires something in return.” Willow gestured at the light ball. “Dean is a good person, so we’ll trade him for some very good energy mixed with a few other things.” She grinned, feeling a little excited. This would work; she had a good feeling about it.

Buffy shrugged. “Always knew my ideas were good.”

“Okay, let’s head out then,” Giles said. The sooner they got this over with the better. Besides, who knew how long this would take. The more sunlight they had left the better, incase they needed to retreat.

“Be careful,” Xander called, standing in front of the group that was staying behind. It really had taken some time to convince him to stay behind. But someone had to lead the school if things turned out to go real bad. Buffy definitely preferred Xander in charge, not Andrew, who didn’t need much convincing to stay behind.

“You know us,” Buffy called.

“Exactly,” he replied, but Buffy could barely hear him anymore as she walked between Giles and Willow towards the old graveyard, which was on top of Cleveland’s hellmouth.

About 10 minutes later they hurried through the graveyard to the Mausoleum that had an entrance to the underground tunnel system. Buffy was reminded of Sunnydale’s graveyard and the night she had gone underground to try and save Jesse all those years ago. Back then she had been afraid of the unknown. Now she was afraid of what she knew.

Sam silently followed Willow down into the tunnels. It was dark, but the witches light ball was illuminating the tunnels nicely. It didn’t take them long to reach a bigger room and Sam watched as Buffy and Giles gave orders to the other slayers to guard the entrances and not let anything get out.

Sam took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He had the feeling that everyone could hear his hammering heart. Dawn then placed a hand on his arm.

“We’ll get him back now,” she promised silently.

Sam felt himself relax and smiled at her. Then Willow and Giles came over to them. Giles would help them with the spell to get Dean out and send Willow’s exchange gift in. Willow would open the hellmouth and try to keep it that way until Dean was out. At the same time she’d try to hold anything evil in there. Sam had no idea if anyone could even be strong enough to do something like that. But incase Willow really couldn’t do it the slayers were there to kill whatever came out of hell.

Willow handed the bag with the ingredients needed for the exchange spell over to Giles. Then she sat down cross-legged. While she started to summon strength from the earth she was aware of Buffy and Kennedy standing to either side of her. They and a few other slayers would try to protect her, Giles, Dawn and Sam while they were busy.

Sam was about to help Dawn and Giles when he suddenly heard an angry voice.

“What are you doing?”

Sam turned around and frowned.

“Ruby.”

“This is crazy. You can’t open the hellmouth. You have no idea what will come out!”

“We can and we will”, Sam said. “We… I have to!”

“No, you don’t.”

“Excuse me, but who the hell are you?” Buffy asked glaring at the blonde. 

Ruby turned to the young woman that was standing next to Sam and frowned. Then she tilted her head and glanced around before turning back to Sam.

“Interesting army you have here, a bunch of girls.” She almost snorted. “You think you can stop whatever comes out of hell?”

Buffy frowned. She really didn’t like to be ignored and she didn’t like to be called a girl either.

“We can stop anything”, she said. “And…” She didn’t get to say more as Sam interrupted her.

“Look, Ruby, You don’t know what’s going on. We know what we’re doing. We’ll get Dean back and nothing is going to escape.” He tried to sound more certain than he was actually feeling.

“Right…” Sam didn’t let Ruby finish either.

“You won’t be able to stop us. So you have two choices. You either run off, like you usually do when something doesn’t go your way, or you stay and help us.”

Ruby stared at Sam. Sometimes he was really annoying. 

“What makes you so sure that I won’t stop you?” she asked and her eyes flashed black.

Buffy saw the change and started to move forward. She was a demon.

Sam reached out a hand to stop Buffy. “Don’t, she’s on our side.”

“But she’s a demon.”

“I know. But Ruby is… different.”

Buffy stared at him unbelievingly, but stayed where she was. She had known two vampires that were different. Maybe Sam was right. She never met a human-possessing demon that wasn’t evil, but there was a first time for everything. She crossed her arms infront of her chest and glared at the demon. If she made one wrong move she could still kill her.

Ruby glared back before fixing her attention on Sam again. “You can’t actually think these girls will be able to stop demons.”

“They are slayers.”

Ruby froze. “You’re kidding. The slayer is just a myth. And besides, even if it was true, there’d just be one.”

“You’re not really up to speed, are you missy?” Buffy asked. “There are lots of us. Every girl that could have been a slayer is a slayer now.”

Ruby glanced around again. Everyone was watching her closely, and she could see it now. They weren’t just girls. They had power. She thought it was coming from the hellmouth before, but now she knew better. It came from the girls.

“Slayers,” she said. “Nice. Maybe you do have a chance after all. Good luck, Sammy.” That said she disappeared.

Sam sighed. He had hoped Ruby would stay. They sure could have used her and her dagger if something went wrong.

Buffy rolled her eyes and turned to Sam. 

Dawn got up. She had been preparing the spell with Giles. It had been hard not to get distracted, but they somehow managed. They couldn’t mess this up after all.

Once she stood next to Sam she saw Buffy’s ‘what the hell was that’ look.

“Can’t we talk about that later? We’re ready.”

“That’s exactly what I was going to suggest,” Willow said.

“Alright, let’s get this over with first,” Buffy agreed and everyone got ready.

Willow started to clear her mind from all worries and fears and concentrated on summoning all the strength she could get. 

As Sam turned to stand with Dawn and Giles he felt a slight breeze come out of nowhere. He glanced over to Willow and froze. He could almost see the power that was surrounding her. But it wasn’t like any magical power he had seen witches use so far. It wasn’t dark and evil. It was pure and bright. This was no magic borrowed from a demon. He had no idea where it came from, but it gave him strength and hope. 

“Ready,” Dawn said and almost at the same time the room started to shake slightly. In the middle of the room a rip seemed to appear in the ground. Dawn watched it get bigger.

‘Now,’ said a voice in Dawn’s head. Willow was telling them to start. She took Sam’s and Giles’ hand in hers and they started the incantation.

Buffy glanced from the four people that were busy doing magic to the rip in the ground. It reminded her of when the hellmouth in Sunnydale opened. Hopefully Willow would be able to close the hellmouth again, because this time Spike wasn’t here to do it. He died in LA about two years ago together with Angel. Buffy had come back to the US and joined the other slayers in stopping Wolfram and Hart. But it had been too late for Angel, Spike and their friends. 

Buffy took a deep breath and tried to push away the memories. This was not the right time to think about Spike and Angel! She needed to focus.

Taking a deep breath Buffy watched the light ball move towards the rip and disappear in it. Then she heard a loud roaring noise and the whole room shook again. She had the feeling that they just made something real angry.

Sam could feel the bright light disappear and knew that it was searching for Dean now. It was getting closer, he could feel it. Maybe it was the spell, or he was somehow connected to the ball of light because he had given some blood to Willow to create it. She said it would help to find Dean, as they were brothers. 

It felt as if Sam could already feel Dean. Then the room shook once more and the roaring noise got louder. Something was moving. At first Sam didn’t really get what it was. But then he understood that it wasn’t connected to the spell they were performing. The slayers were moving. Something must be coming out of the hellmouth.

Willow could feel darkness and evil creeping closer. It felt familiar and was reaching out to her, as if it wanted to embrace her and bring her home. But it wasn’t home. She was no longer evil and the darkness didn’t have any appeal to her anymore. It couldn’t pull her in, but she didn’t really know how to defeat it either. Screams and fighting noises started to distract her and almost broke her concentration. Her friends were in danger. She hadn’t been able to keep everything inside the hellmouth. She was failing. No, she couldn’t fail. She had promised the others that she could do this. There had to be a way. She just needed more power. She reached out, trying to find something. She knew she could tap into the slayers powers. But they were fighting whatever she let slip out of hell and if she took their strength they probably would get killed. She couldn’t risk it. Maybe she could find the slayers that stayed back. But they were so far away. 

Willow felt herself getting weaker and it became harder to keep the hellmouth from opening wider. Just when she was about to lose control she felt strength flow through her. It was pure and good power. It felt like… she felt loved and stronger than ever before.

‘Close it,’ a familiar voice said in her head. 

‘But Dean…’

‘He’s safe now’

Relief flooded through Willow, then she summoned her own and the strength given to her and closed the hellmouth.

Buffy was fighting an ubervamp when the room suddenly seemed to glow in a very bright light. She beheaded the vamp and then saw the source of the light. It was coming from Willow. Then the hellmouth closed. Had they done it? 

A bright light was almost blinding Dawn and Sam let go of her hand. She blinked a few times and the light disappeared slowly. At the same time the hole in the ground was closing. Dawn’s eyes widened. They couldn’t close the hellmouth yet, they had to… She didn’t get to finish the thought. Hearing a voice she turned to her right.

“Dean.”

Dawn’s eyes widened. Dean was lying right infront of Sam. They had done it!

Sam noticed that Dawn was kneeling next to him, but his focus was on his brother. They had actually done it. Dean was right in front of him. But he wasn’t moving. He quickly reached out to check for a pulse, but a hand grabbed his arm.

A huge smile appeared on Sam’s face. 

“It’s me, Dean.”

Dean Winchester blinked a few times, then everything finally came into focus.

“Sam?” He let go of his brother’s arm and glanced around. “What happened? Where are we?”

“You’re safe now,” Sam answered. “I’ll tell you everything else later.” He smiled brightly. He almost couldn’t believe that Dean was actually back. 

“Welcome back,” Dawn said, a tear running down her cheek.

“Dawn?” Dean asked glancing at her.

“Sorry to break up the happy reunion…,” Buffy called and swung her axe to behead a demon that was getting way too close to her sister. “…but we still have a job to finish here.”

“Right,” Dawn said and got up quickly. The hellmouth was closed, but there were still a lot of demons in the room.

Sam followed and held a hand out to Dean.

Dean took the hand and pulled himself up. Then he groaned.

“What?” Sam asked concerned.

“Seriously? No pants?” Dean wanted know.

Sam snorted.

“I can definitely see now why we had to get him out of hell,” Buffy stated with a smirk. Then she elbowed an advancing demon, twirled around and beheaded it.

Dean grinned smugly. “I think I like her”, he stated. Then he turned to Sam. "Did you at least bring weapons?"

“Try that”, Buffy called and threw her ax to him. “Wouldn’t want you to get killed after we went through all that trouble to get you back.”

Dean grinned and caught the ax. Then he swung it and cut the stomach of an advancing demon open.

“Ew.” That didn’t smell good at all.

Sam chuckled before throwing himself into the fight as well. He kicked a very ugly looking demon right into the sword of a slayer when another demon grabbed him and threw him into the wall. Sam sucked in air and turned around quickly. The demon was about to jump him, but then stopped. A second later its head was cut off and it fell to the ground lifeless.

“Ruby.” She was standing there, twirling her knife. Then she kicked a demon that approached her from behind. One quick twirl and she had him beheaded as well.

“You didn’t think I’d leave you all the fun, did you?” she said once she was finished with the demon.

Sam grinned. “I’m happy to share,” he stated and went to help Dawn.

About 20 minutes later the demons, and everything else that came out of hell, were dead.

“One more apocalypse averted”, Buffy stated and dusted off her clothes. 

“I don’t think this counts,” Willow said. “You know, since we would have caused it in the first place.”

“Technicalities…,” Buffy stated and shrugged.

“Come on, let’s go home”, Kennedy called.

Sam glanced around the room. He didn’t see any human bodies. Could they really have been that lucky? Then his gaze fell on Dean and he smiled. He definitely was very lucky!

Stepping forward Sam wrapped his arms around his brother and pulled him close.

“I really thought I lost you this time.”

Dean hugged his brother back. He still didn’t really know what happened. The last thing he remembered was the hellhounds coming for him. Then he woke up here. Had he actually gone to hell? How much time had passed? He had no idea, but if he was in hell he was glad that he didn’t remember.

Dean then let go of Sam and stepped back a little. 

“So, how about some pants?” he asked.

Sam smirked apologetically.

“Sorry, didn’t bring any.” Then he pulled off his shirt and threw it over to Dean.

Dean caught it and grimaced, not looking too happy.

“I’ll call Xander and have him bring some clothes. You really can’t walk through town like that”, Dawn said with an amused smirk.

“Thanks. That’s so kind of you, Dawn,” Dean answered with a sweet smile.

“Come on. You can wait in the mausoleum upstairs.”

Dean used Sam’s shirt to at least cover his most important parts and followed Dawn. Then he quickly gestured to Sam to walk behind him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like attention from women. But he preferred to have it in more private surroundings. 

Sam smirked and followed Dean.

Once in the mausoleum Dawn, Dean and Sam stayed back while the others left. Dawn pulled out her mobile and made the call.

Sam glanced around for Ruby, but obviously the demon had disappeared already.

Dean leaned against a wall and tried to smile at the women that walked by. When the last one had left he glanced at Sam.

“So, where’s Faith?” Since he saw Dawn he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Faith. He actually never really stopped thinking about her since he met her. She was really, really hot and one hell of a fighter. He loved the way she moved, the way she smiled, the way she talked… He sighed. He knew deep down that he was being stupid. He barely knew her and it was best to keep it that way. He wasn’t the relationship kind of guy and he never stayed in one place long. But that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be great to see her again. And besides, she wasn’t the relationship kind of girl either. So there was no reason not to have some fun again, was there?

Sam glanced at Dean and sighed. “She’s… missing,” Sam answered for lack of a better word.

“She’s what?” Dean asked staring at his brother. Somehow he really didn’t like the sound of that. “You mean missing as in ‘she isn’t here and Dawn doesn’t know where she went’?”

“No, he means missing as in ‘she fell through a portal and we’re trying to find her’,” Dawn said while putting her mobile away.

Dean stared at her, trying to process what she said. He really didn’t like the thought of that.

“Crap”, he muttered. That so wasn’t good. 

“We have to find her.”

“We will,” Sam stated. He would have helped to find Faith anyway, but as Dawn helped him get Dean back there really was no question about it at all.

Dawn smiled slightly. She liked the thought of Sam and Dean staying a bit longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:
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> picspam for this chapter:
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	4. the search begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you like surprises and don't want to know anything about the new chapter before reading it skip this! ;-)**
> 
> This chapter has a guest star:
> 
> India Cohen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_Cohen India is 29 years old now. Since India has only been in Buffy books and not the show there is no canon actress for her. Summer Glau has dark hair, fights like a slayer in Serenity and played in a Joss Whedon production. What more do you want? *g* So yeah, that's why I chose her to portray India.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you will like the alternate reality I created and everything makes sense. I have the whole world in my head, but not everything can be put into this chapter or even in the fanfic. The main characters just don't have/want to find out every detail. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

**TARDIS:**

The TARDIS came to a halt and Faith glanced at the door. She could be almost home already. They were in Cleveland now, according to the Doctor. The question was just if it was the right reality. There apparently were way more realities than she could even imagine. That they found the right one on their first try was kind of unrealistic, but she was a slayer. Slayers were good at beating the odds and she definitely wouldn’t give up hope. Besides, the Doctor said he narrowed it down a little. He had examined her with some kind of screwdriver before and said that he picked up some power readings. She guessed he was somehow detecting her slayer powers, but couldn’t be entirely sure. It didn’t really matter anyway. The important thing was that the Doctor was trying to choose realities with similar readings. 

The Doctor looked at his three companions and grinned. “All new reality. I’ve never been here. So… let’s have a look,” he said.

Jack grinned as well. This was his first alternate reality. There weren’t many ‘firsts’ left if you were as old as he was, so he was rather excited.

Martha saw the Doctors and Jacks excited looks and started to feel the same way. She pushed away her worries and sadness for the moment. This was why she called the Doctor. She had the chance to explore again. It would give her something to do, something exciting and fun, and keep her from thinking about Tom.

The Doctor didn’t wait for an answer. He rushed to the door and opened it to peer out. It was dark and they had landed next to a cemetery.

“Feels like home,” Faith said as she stepped outside.

The Doctor turned to her curiously. How could she feel if she was home?

Then they heard a scream.

“Definitely feels like home,” Faith stated and rushed off, jumping over the cemetery fence.

Jack admired Faiths jump briefly, then ran towards the gate a few feet away.

The Doctor opened the gate with the sonic screwdriver and the three rushed into the graveyard.

“Which way did she go?” Martha asked.

\----- -----

Faith jumped over gravestones and finally saw who had been screaming. A couple was running towards her. They looked scared and hysterical.

“Monsters… run,” the woman screamed.

Faith ran, but in the direction the couple had come from. She heard noises from behind a mausoleum. Once she reached it she stopped.

A woman was fighting two vampires. Faith didn’t know her, but judging by her moves and the way she staked both vampires she was a slayer. Faith smirked. She was really good.

The woman dusted off her trousers, then turned to look at Faith.

“Faith? What the hell are you doing here?” she asked and rushed towards her.

Faith raised an eyebrow. It was dark, but she was sure she didn’t know the other slayer. Probably not her reality then. 

“Heard the screams, so I checked it out,” she answered. Maybe the woman wouldn’t notice the difference and she could leave soon. Explaining everything probably would sound weird, even to a slayer.

“You what?” The woman glared at her. Faith had the feeling that she had some sort of problem. Oh no, was she still evil in this world? But the slayer wouldn’t waste time talking to her then, would she?

“You’re not supposed to leave the house.”

Faith stared at her unbelievingly. That so didn’t make sense.

“What, am I under house arrest here?” she asked with a snort.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” the woman said and grabbed Faiths arm to lead her away. Faith however wasn’t in the mood to comply, flexed her arm and moved out of her reach.

“Easy now. I think there’s a misunderstanding here. You see, I’m not…”

“Crap.”

Faith followed the woman’s gaze. Four figures were coming towards them.

“You really should have stayed home.”

Faith rolled her eyes. As if she fell through a portal on purpose. Then she saw the figures more clearly and frowned.

“Bringers.” She hadn’t seen them in years, not since they closed the hellmouth in Sunnydale. What were they doing here?

The woman didn’t say anything; she simply looked at Faith, as if to say ‘I told you so’.

“Oh come on, there’s only four of them. We can take ‘em.”

“We? You can barely hold a stake yet and now you want to fight bringers?”

Faith stared at her. What the hell was she talking about?

“Stay behind me,” the woman ordered and rushed forward to fight the bringers. 

Faith had never been good at taking orders, especially if they were given in that tone. She rushed forward and threw herself into the fight.

\----- -----

“This way,” Jack called. He could hear fighting noises now. Of course they ran in the wrong direction first. He really hoped Faith was okay.

“One day I’m going to find a companion that doesn’t run off on her own,” the Doctor muttered as he rushed into the direction Jack had pointed out. 

Jack snorted. “Call me when you do. I want to see that companion.”

The three of them then stopped.

“Doesn’t look like she needs our help,” Martha stated while trying to catch her breath.

Jack glanced at her and grinned. Martha was right; Faith didn’t seem to need help. Neither did the other woman. He had never seen anyone fight like they did. 

One of the attackers was down, one for each of the woman, that left one. Jack rushed forward and joined the fight. He hadn’t had a good fight in a while and since the Doctor didn’t like guns he’d just have to use his fists.

“Stay back,” the woman called.

“They are with me,” Faith objected. It wasn’t that she knew if any of them knew how to fight, but she didn’t really like the way the woman told them what to do. Neither did Jack by the looks of it. Faith concentrated on her attacker and soon managed to kill it. Then she hurried over to Jack and helped him get rid of his bringer. 

When they were done Faith turned around and saw that the slayer had dealt with the last one. Then she stepped towards Faith.

“Who the hell are you? Cause you’re definitely not the Faith Lehane that showed up on my doorstep two days ago. And how did you learn to fight like that?” The woman looked at her suspiciously, but also a little curious.

“Slayer,” Faith stated with a shrug. “And I…”

“Don’t give me that. You can’t be the slayer. I’m the slayer, and since I didn’t die…”

“They are dead, all of them,” the Doctor said interrupting them. He got up from where he was kneeling and looked at Faith.

“Yes, they are,” Faith agreed. 

“You killed them.”

Faith frowned. The Doctor obviously wasn’t happy about that.

“Look, they are evil. They would have killed us and a lot of other people. They have killed many already,” Faith tried to explain, looking from the Doctor to Jack and Martha. Somehow it was important that they knew that. She didn’t want them to think that she was a killer. She wasn’t, not anymore!

The Doctor frowned, still not liking this.

“They are controlled by the First evil. I’ve fought them before. If they are here this world is in serious trouble, apocalyptic trouble,” Faith stated.

“Maybe she’s right, Doctor,” Jack said. “We know nothing about this world.” He also knew that there were creatures that didn’t have an ounce of goodness in them. You either killed them or had to live with the consequences.

“What do you mean; you don’t know anything about this world? Who are you?” the woman wanted to know.

Faith turned to her. Then she saw someone coming towards them. Faith quickly stepped infront of Jack, Martha and the Doctor. But then she relaxed. It was Willow. It might not be the Willow she knew, but it was still her.

“India, are you okay?” Willow asked as she came closer. Then she turned to Faith. “Faith? What… how did you get here? I just saw you at the house.”

Faith’s chin almost dropped down. She ignored Willow’s question and turned to the dark haired slayer.

“India Cohen?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” India told Willow. Then she turned to Faith and nodded.

“That’s me. Now that you know who I am, why don’t you tell me who you are and what’s going on?” She crossed her arms infront of her chest and stepped closer to Willow, who looked a little confused.

Faith looked at her and smirked slightly. India had been the slayer before Buffy. Obviously she never died in this reality. Interesting, Faith thought and wondered what happened to Buffy in this world. If she never became the slayer, what would Buffy be like?

“I really am Faith,” she then said. “But not the Faith you know. We’re from another world.”

“An alternate reality,” the Doctor added. “Or two, to be exact. We’re not from the same one. We’re just trying to get Faith home. But it looks like we haven’t found the right reality yet.”

India and Willow stared at them.

“An alternate reality?” Willow asked and then turned to India. “You know, like the one that vampire me came from.”

India frowned. “I so didn’t like her.” 

“She was gross,” Willow agreed. Then they turned back to Faith and the others.

“So you’re the slayer where you came from?” India said.

“A slayer,” Faith corrected.

“Sorry, but what do you mean by slayer?” Jack interrupted.

“Slayer, as in vampire slayer,” India said.

Martha snorted. “Are you serious?” Judging by the looks she was getting they were. Wow, this reality was strange. Or was it? Were vampires real back home as well? She glanced at the Doctor.

“Vampires aren’t real back home, are they?”

“No, they are not. Well, there is an alien race that lives on blood…”

“Alien?” Willow asked.

“Aliens are real, too. Or at least in their reality they are,” Faith said with a shrug.

“Of course they are,” India stated. She had long ago learned that nothing was impossible. So why not aliens?

The Doctor smirked. Then he stepped to the side. “Well, it’s been nice meeting you, but we’re obviously in the wrong place here. We better go, lot’s of realities to check…” He also wanted to have a word with Faith about killing these creatures in private.

“No, wait,” Faith said. “We can’t just leave. The First evil is trying to take over here. Lot’s of people will die. We have to help.”

“Another slayer would be good,” India said. It was getting really hard to keep all the potentials safe and still do her job properly. Things had always been hard of course, but lately it was even harder.

“Exactly,” Faith said. “You seriously need more slayers here.” 

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**AU Cleveland – India Cohen & Christopher ‘Kit’ Bothwell’s house:**

The Doctor glanced around the living room. There were a lot of girls in the house, maybe 10. He detected some of the power that Faith and India had in them, but not much.

“They are just girls,” Martha said. “How are they supposed to stop an apocalypse?”

The Doctor turned to her. “You were all alone and you still saved the world.”

Martha smiled slightly. It still felt good to hear that. “I didn’t do it on my own though. It was all your idea.”

The Doctor smirked. Then he glanced at the girls who were watching TV. They were probably 15 to 18. He had seen some older ones, but most were just kids. How could anyone put the weight of the world on their shoulder? Faith and India had told them about the slayer and how she was chosen to fight evil. It was an odd world. 

“Do you think it would be the right thing to do to turn them all into slayers?” Martha then asked.

“I don’t know. It seems to work in Faith’s reality,” the Doctor answered. Or at least that was what Faith said. 

“And it’s their choice, not ours,” he added. He was used to making decisions and telling everyone what they should do, but this was another reality and he would probably never come back. These people had to make up their own mind and live with the consequences.

\----- -----

India Cohen looked at Faith, who was leaning against the kitchen wall casually, drinking some water. She was so different from the Faith she knew. Not that she actually knew her; they just met two days ago after all, when Kit brought her here. He found out about her being a potential and went to get her. He was almost too late. Faith had been hunted by bringers and Kit had to fight them off. He was upstairs in their room, recovering. India’s heart started to beat faster at the thought that she almost lost him. 

She sighed and pushed away the thoughts about Kit. He would be fine after all and she had other things to worry about.

“So, you think it would be a good idea to turn all potentials into slayers?”

“Sure,” Faith answered.

India sighed. She had hoped for a little bit more than that. She knew that it would be great to have more slayers that could help in the fight against evil. But it would mean changing their lives forever. Their chance at a normal life would be over. For most of them it would even mean taking away their normal lives. They were past the age of 15 or 16 and thus wouldn’t be chosen anymore as long as a younger potential was alive. She didn’t want to do that. She had once promised herself to try and stay alive as long as possible so no other girl would ever have to become the slayer and go through what she had to go through. 

“But it’s not my decision, or yours, it’s theirs,” Faith added.

“You made the decision on your own?” India asked.

Faith snorted slightly. “Me? No, I was a slayer before that. But the others did. They wanted to help.”

“So, you were the slayer before the First attacked?”

Faith nodded. “Well, kind of. I was one of two slayers.” She tried to think of a way to sum up everything briefly, then went on: “One of us died for a few seconds before being reanimated. It was long enough for a new slayer to be called.”

India stared at her. She had never thought about anything like that. 

“Yeah, Buffy never did anything by the book,” Faith said laughing slightly.

“Buffy?” Willow asked entering the kitchen. 

“Yeah, where is she anyway, haven’t see her in the house yet.”

Willow and India stared at her.

“You mean Buffy Summers?” India asked. “She’s one of us? I mean, she’s a slayer where you come from?”

Faith nodded. “The slayer actually. She was called after you. Well, the India Cohen from my reality.”

Willow and India shared a look, then turned back to Faith.

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Willow said. “I can’t even imagine what would happen if the fate of the world depended on Buffy Summers.” Buffy was one of the most popular girls in High School, which also made her shallow, arrogant and selfish.

Faith frowned. She and Buffy weren’t really friends, but she did like Buffy and she often wanted to be just like her. “The world would be fine. It actually is. Everything’s good back home. We do have a lot of slayers now and the hellmouth is closed.”

“We closed the hellmouth in Sunnydale, too,” Willow quickly stated. 

“This isn’t a competition,” India stated. “Our worlds are different and becoming the slayer changes a person. What we really should be doing right now is try to find out where Buffy is. If she is the slayer in an alternate reality she probably is a potential here. The bringers could be after her right now.”

Willow frowned. “The last I heard Buffy and her best friend Cordelia went to LA to study there. I never heard from either of them again.” It wasn’t like Willow was surprised about that either. They had been the popular girls, while Willow was an outsider.

“I could try and find her on the net,” she offered.

Faith nodded, but felt a little strange. It was really hard to imagine that Buffy and Willow weren’t friends.

Willow then left and Faith followed.

“I’ll talk to the Doctor. Once Willow found Buffy someone has to go and pick her up.” They’d be quicker in the TARDIS.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**AU LA:**

“So, party at my house on Friday,” Cordelia Chase said.

“Cool,” Buffy Summers answered grinning at her friend. “Please tell me that hot boss of yours is coming, too.”

Cordelia frowned. Ever since Buffy picked her up at Angel Investigations once she was obsessed with getting to know Angel. If she knew what Angel really was she’d probably freak out and run away screaming. It was how she would have reacted before a vampire tried to suck the life out of her and Angel saved her life. She started to work for him later, since her acting career hadn’t turned out to go as well as she had hoped.

“He’s not the right kind of guy for you, trust me on that.”

Buffy frowned. “Why do you keep telling me that? He’s hot and he helps people. What’s not to like about him?” 

Cordelia almost snorted. His eating habits for one. 

“Oh come on, we could double date. Me and Angel, and you and Doyle. You are still dating him, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am still dating Doyle,” Cordelia said and a smile appeared on her face. She hadn’t actually paid attention to him at first, but Doyle never gave up. She eventually realized that she did like him as well. 

Buffy was about to ask about Angel again when she suddenly heard a noise. “What was that?”

Cordelia turned around, but didn’t see anything. However, it was getting dark already, so she knew that just because she didn’t see anything didn’t mean there was nothing scary there. Some things just didn’t want to be seen until they were about to suck the life out of you, eat you or do something just as horrible to you.

“Probably nothing,” Cordelia answered, but hurried to her car quickly. She really wished they had found a parking space closer to the mall.

Buffy followed her friend as fast as she could. Somehow she had a bad feeling, as if something was going to happen, something bad and life-changing. But that was silly, wasn’t it?

Once at the car they threw their bags into the back seats, sat down quickly and closed the doors.

“Drive,” Buffy called. The feeling of uneasiness just wasn’t going away.

Cordelia didn’t have to be told twice. They were almost out of the parking lot when two guys jumped infront of the car. Cordelia hit the brakes instinctively. Then more of the guys appeared and came towards the car. They somehow moved oddly. One of them then stepped into the beam of the cars lights and Cordelia saw that he didn’t have eyes.

“Oh crap”, she muttered and stepped on the gas pedal again, running one of them over.

Buffy screamed.

Cordelia drove on fast. “Buffy, stop it. Get my mobile and call Angel Investigations. It’s on speed dial.”

Buffy just stared at her.

“Do it. Now!”

Buffy grabbed Cordelia’s purse and searched for the mobile. Then she called Angel Investigations and held the phone to Cordelia’s ear.

“Angel, it’s me. We’re in trouble…”

She didn’t get to say more as something hit the roof of the car. Then someone appeared infront of it. The next second a tire burst and the car started to slinger.

“Crap,” Cordelia muttered and then quickly told Angel where they were.

“What’s going on?” Buffy wanted to know as the car came to a stop.

Then one of the creatures jumped onto the front of the car and Buffy screamed again. Cordelia locked the doors and prayed that Angel and Doyle would get there in time.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Faith watched as the Doctor did something at the console. They had gone to find Buffy after Willow gave them her address. But of course Buffy wasn’t home. Now the Doctor was scanning LA for her. Hopefully it would work. 

“Got something. That has to be her,” the Doctor said.

The TARDIS shook slightly. Then it came to a halt again. Faith was at the door within seconds und rushed out. A few feet away bringers were surrounding a car and jumping on it. Faith didn’t waste time and ran for them. 

Jack was on her heels.

“Use that gun of yours,” she called before speeding up.

Jack knew the Doctor wouldn’t like that, but pulled his gun anyway. Faith was a good fighter, but she was greatly outnumbered. 

\----- -----

Cordelia was trying to block out Buffy’s scream as she went through her purse, searching for the pepper spray. She had no idea if it would have any effect on these creatures, but it was better than nothing. She just pulled it out of her bag when the creature that was on the car was pulled away and thrown into another one of them. Cordelia grinned. Angel must be there. She opened the door and got out. Then she heard shooting and got down quickly, hiding behind the cars door. Since when did Angel use a gun? Did Doyle get one maybe?

“Stay down,” a female voice called. Cordelia frowned and peered over the cars door. A young woman was fighting the creatures. Cordelia had never seen anyone move like that. Well, except for Angel maybe. Was she a vampire, too? But there were no other vampires with souls, were there? And why would she help them if she was a soulless vampire?

\----- -----

The Doctor stopped several feet away from the fight, holding Martha back. She was a doctor, not a fighter. 

“They’ll need you later, if someone gets hurt,” he said.

Martha frowned. Maybe she should have learned how to shoot a gun after all. Watching Faith and Jack take on at least 8 of those creatures and doing nothing to help definitely wasn’t fun.

“Woah,” the Doctor then exclaimed. 

“What is it?” Martha asked looking at him.

“The bringers… their minds are linked and telepathically controlled,” the Doctor stated. “I can feel it.”

Martha stared at him surprised. She knew the Doctor had some telepathic powers which he somehow used when defeating the Master, but she had no clue how they worked exactly.

“Maybe I can block that connection,” the Doctor muttered and concentrated.

\----- -----

Faith just killed the second bringer when she noticed that the other bringers started to moan and sway.

“What’s happening?” Jack asked. He had killed a bringer before another one jumped him. But now it was moving back, holding its head.

“Not a clue,” Faith stated.

“Finish them,” the Doctor called, sounding a little strained. 

Jack turned to the Doctor and frowned. “Are you serious?” Was the Doctor actually telling them to kill?

The Doctor stepped closer, Martha by his side.

“Do it. I don’t know how long I can keep doing this.” Then he grabbed his head and sunk down to his knees.

“Doctor,” Martha called and knelt down beside him, trying to help.

“What the hell is going on and who are you?” Cordelia Chase called. Then one of the bringers stumbled towards her and she used the pepper spray in her hand.

“Take this.”

Faith smirked. It was good to see Cordelia again. They hadn’t really gotten along, but that was mainly her own fault, not Cordelias.

“Nice one,” she said. Then she stepped forward and took care of the bringer.

Jack was torn between helping Faith and rushing to the Doctor. But the Doctor told them to kill the bringers. Maybe that would help him, too. Jack turned to the bringers and started shooting.

Then the bringers seemed to recover from whatever the Doctor did to them and attacked as a unit again. Faith frowned. What did that mean for the Doctor? She however didn’t have time to think about it as the bringers all came towards her.

Jack frowned. All bringers were heading for Faith, ignoring him completely. He couldn’t shoot anymore either or he’d risk hitting Faith. He guessed he’d have to use his fists again.

Faith kicked a bringer in the chest and elbowed another one. Then she got hit in the back and fell forward. She turned around quickly, facing her attacker. The bringer looming over her then got pulled away and crashed into the back of the car.

Faith glanced to her left and a smile appeared on her face.

“Angel,” she breathed. For a moment she just stared at him, completely forgetting everything else. Things really were different here, maybe even better. Angel was alive.

Angel killed the bringer, then came towards Faith and held a hand out to her.

Faith grinned and took it, pulling herself up.

“Thanks,” she said. Then a bringer came at them. Before Angel could react Faith kicked out, twirled around and hit the bringer in the face.

“Nice moves,” Angel commented as he fought side by side with Faith.

“Slayer,” Faith stated between punches.

Angel pushed an attacking bringer away and turned to Faith. “India is dead?” He didn’t really know the slayer well, but had helped her a few times in Sunnydale. When she found out that he was a vampire she decided to let him live, but didn’t really want him around. He could understand that and left for LA.

“Nope, still alive and kicking.”

Angel stared at her a little confused. When a bringer attacked him at that moment Angel seemed to get annoyed and broke his neck. Then he turned back to Faith with a questioning look.

“Alternate reality,” she said with a shrug and followed Angel’s example in breaking her attacker’s neck as well.

Jack killed the last bringer and then turned to the Doctor, who was sitting on the ground, looking a little more relaxed. He guessed the Time Lord would be fine.

“Nice work,” he then said stepping over to Faith and the tall dark-haired stranger.

“Captain Jack Harkness,” he introduced himself. “And who are you?”

Faith turned to Jack and raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

Angel frowned, then turned to the car.

“What? He’s hot, isn’t he?” Jack muttered to Faith, while Angel seemed to have decided to check on the people that were in the car.

A car then stopped next to them and a man got out holding a crossbow.

“Am I too late?” he called. 

Cordelia chuckled slightly and rushed over to Doyle, throwing herself into his arms.

Angel opened the door of the passenger’s side and peered in. A young woman was sitting inside, looking rather shocked and frightened. It was Cordelia’s friend. Buffy, if he remembered right.

“It’s over now. You’ll be fine.” Buffy glanced at him, then seemed to relax and got out of the car. Angel was glad that she seemed to be fine. Then she threw herself into his arms. Angel was a little taken aback and glanced around uneasily.

“Oh great, now I’m never going to convince her that Angel isn’t the right kind of guy for her.”

Faith turned to Cordelia surprised. “They aren’t together?”

“Not if I can help it,” Cordelia stated.

“You better keep it that way, cause if they have sex… so not a good idea.”

Jack, Cordelia and Doyle turned to stare at her.

“He’s cursed and she’s definitely going to make him happy enough to lose his soul.”

Cordelia stared at her. “That should convince Buffy. Or maybe I’ll just tell her that he’s a vampire.”

“Won’t stop her,” Faith objected.

Cordelia glared at her.

“How do you know that and who are you anyway?”

\----- -----

As Faith started to talk to the brunette Jack made his way over to the Doctor, who was just getting up with Martha’s help.

“What was that?” he asked.

The Doctor took a deep breath, then looked at Jack.

“The bringers are telepathically linked and being controlled. I tried to block the connection.”

“That didn’t go so well, did it?” Jack asked.

“Not really. Whatever is controlling them is really powerful… and evil. I’ve seen a lot of evil in my life. But nothing like this.”

Jack and Martha stared at him. The Doctor had seen a lot in his life. They had even seen a lot of evil together. If this was worse than any of that…

“That’s why you told us to kill them,” Jack stated.

The Doctor nodded. He didn’t like killing, but Faith was right, the First, who controlled the bringers, was pure evil. He had felt it. When he interrupted the connection between the First and the bringers it noticed him and tried to take control of his mind. He could feel the darkness seep into his consciousness, trying to control him and make him see things. He had barely been able to stop it. Luckily the connection between him and the First had ended when the last bringer died. 

“Come on let’s go and talk to the others.” He gestured over to the group standing on the road a few feet away. He didn’t want to stay longer than necessary and risk that more bringers showed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:


	5. Cleveland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Buffyverse:**

Dean Winchester stood at a window in the Slayerschool, looking at the setting sun. He hadn’t expected or even dared to hope to see another sunset. He went to hell after all. He knew Sam would try to get him back, but Dean had never imagined that he would actually succeed. Well, he hadn’t done it alone. Sam had found help. When they met Dawn and Faith a few months ago he would never have guessed how lucky they actually were. Maybe they should have talked to them sooner. It might have made a lot of things easier. But Dean hadn’t wanted to get even closer to Faith. He cared about her way too much already. She wasn’t like other women. She was special, and he didn’t mean because she was a slayer. He sighed. He really didn’t want to care about anyone so much. The more you cared the worse it was to lose someone. He also didn’t want to risk that Faith might feel the same way and then have to watch him go to hell. He couldn’t do that to her.

Dean leaned against the wall and frowned. Now he was back and Faith was gone. That portal could have taken her anywhere, a hell dimension probably. The thought made him shiver. They had to find her. 

“Hey,” Sam said walking towards his brother with a smile on his face. He hadn’t felt this good in a while, maybe ever. He had Dean back and Dawn was here, too. 

Dean turned to him, returning the smile. It was good to see his brother happy.

“It’s nice here, isn’t it?” Sam asked looking out the window as well. They could see the pool, the meadow and the trees at the edge of the property in the last rays of sunlight.

Dean nodded. “Never knew you could hunt evil and still live like this.”

Sam smiled. “Yeah, it’s crazy. Dawn said the building belonged to the old watchers council. They barely used it apparently.”

“What a waste,” Dean said. Then he glanced at Sam again. “What’s a watchers council again?”

“The watchers help train the slayers. They apparently existed as long as the slayer did, but usually were arrogant snobs who lived in places like this and did nothing. Most of them were killed a few years ago however, just before the slayer power got activated in all potential slayers. Now there are lots of slayers and few watchers. But at least it meant that the money and property of the watchers council is administrated by Buffy’s original watcher now, who apparently found a better way to use it.”

Dean nodded. He really did find a good way to use it; and the slayers deserved it. It was nice to know that there was some justice in the world now. People who risked their lives every day and fought against evil deserved at least something in return.

“They offered us to stay.”

Dean looked at Sam surprised. “Really?”

“We could still drive to other cities when something is going on there. And they even have a private jet, in case something happens further away.”

Dean frowned. He still didn’t really like to fly.

“Just think about it, okay?” Sam asked.

“I didn’t say no,” Dean pointed out. It definitely was worth thinking about. They’d have a place to call home again, people that could help, and not just people, slayers and witches, who knew what they were doing. Sam could be with Dawn. Dean knew how much she meant to Sam, even though they never talked about it. Sam wasn’t the type of guy to hook up with a girl without caring about her. But he had the feeling that Dawn was even more special to Sam.  
And then there was Faith… Dean wouldn’t leave before they found her and after that… Well, he had no idea what would happen then.

Sam smiled again. He had feared Dean wouldn’t even want to discuss it. He usually didn’t want to stay in one place for long; and he never trusted anyone to have his back but Sam, or maybe Bobby. Staying with other hunters had never been an option. They didn’t even stay long with Bobby. But these people had helped pull Dean out of hell. Maybe that counted for something.

“There you are,” Dawn said coming towards them with a big smile on her face.

“Willow thinks she can re-open the portal that sucked Faith in.”

Dean stared at her, feeling a lot better all of a sudden. “What are we waiting for then?”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Willow’s room:**

“I think the portal was most likely one way, or Faith could just have jumped back,” Willow stated. “So I’m going through to open one from the other side once I find her.”

“You’re not going alone,” Dean objected.

“That’s what I was going to say,” Buffy added. In her opinion a portal that was opened by a demon couldn’t lead to a nice place.

“I’m coming, too,” Dawn said and then turned to Buffy. “End of discussion!”

Buffy closed her mouth again. She didn’t want Dawn to go, but she knew by now how stubborn her sister was. And Faith was her friend. Buffy might not completely like how close Dawn and Faith had become, but there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, Faith had proven that Dawn meant just as much to her as the other way around. She saved Dawns life a lot of times already and now she was the one missing instead of Dawn, whom she had pushed out of the way. Buffy couldn’t expect Dawn not to try and find her friend.

“Then we’re all going,” Sam added. 

Willow smiled, relieved. She didn’t want to put her friends in danger, but she’d feel better if she didn’t go alone. They probably would end up in a hell dimension after all.

“Okay, let’s get ready then.”

“What, right now?” Buffy wanted to know.

“The sooner the better,” Dean stated. He didn’t want to leave Faith wherever she was for a second longer than necessary.

Buffy glared at him. “Willow opened and closed the hellmouth today. That took a lot out of her. She needs to rest at least a bit.”

Dean looked from Buffy to Willow, feeling guilty for not even thinking about that. It surely couldn’t have been easy to do that; and all for him, whom Willow didn’t even know. He definitely owed her.

“I’m fine,” Willow said. “Really!” She felt a little drained right after she closed the hellmouth, but was okay now. Seeing her friends’ worried faces she sighed.

“I know what I can handle. I wouldn’t suggest doing this today if I thought I’d be too tired to open a portal back home. Being stranded in a hell dimension definitely isn’t something I’d be looking forward to. Now go get ready!” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Sam, Dean and Dawn nodded and left. Buffy lingered in the door, waiting until they were gone.

“Willow, you really should rest.”

“Buffy, I told you, I’m fine.”

“It can’t have been easy to open and especially close the hellmouth.”

“I know, but I didn’t do it alone,” Willow admitted.

Buffy stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“I had help, Buffy. I was losing control. I just didn’t have enough power to close the hellmouth. Then all of a sudden power was flowing through me, as if someone gave it to me.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “Where did it come from?”

“I think…” Willow looked at Buffy, feeling a little uneasy. “I think it came from Tara. I know it sounds crazy, but I heard her voice. She told me to close the hellmouth and that Dean was safe.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. Then she sat down next to her friend, placing her hand over Willow’s. 

“It might sound a little crazy, but crazier things have happened. Look who you’re talking to. I’ve died – twice. If you say you heard Tara and she helped you, then I believe you.”

Willow smiled. She had been afraid everyone would think she was imagining things because she still missed Tara so much. Of course she had Kennedy now, but things weren’t going so well lately. Kennedy probably felt that she didn’t love her as much as she loved Tara. It all just made Willow think about Tara even more.

“Besides, for all we know Tara could be a higher being now.”

“You think so?” Willow asked.

Buffy shrugged. “Who knows? Cordelia was one; and if she can become one so could Tara.”

Somehow that thought made Willow feel better. If Tara was up there, watching over them, the world would be a better place in her eyes.

“Alright, come on. I have a feeling that some people are already waiting for us.”

Willow smirked and got up. “You go get some weapons while I pack a few magical supplies.”

Buffy nodded and then left.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**AU Buffyverse – Cleveland:**

Faith watched as India started to talk to Buffy. It had taken some convincing to get her to come with them. Cordelia, Angel and Doyle came along, too. Cordelia simply refused to leave Buffy’s side and Doyle and Angel didn’t seem to want to let Cordelia go alone.

“Thanks for getting her,” Willow said. “We wouldn’t have gotten to her in time.”

Before Faith could say anything Cordelia came towards them.

“Willow, is that you? Of course it is.” She gave Willow a brief hug, as if they were old friends. Willow looked at her startled.

“So, you’re in on all of this. Always knew there was something odd about you… you know. I guess you knew there were vampires in Sunnydale all along. I didn’t want to believe it at first, when Angel told me, but the more I think about it… Some really strange things did happen while we were in High School.”

“You could say that.” Willow glanced from Cordelia to Faith who shrugged.

“So, you’re one of those… slayers, too?” Cordelia looked at Willow curiously.

“Me? No, I’m a witch.”

“A witch. Wow, that’s so cool. You have to tell me all about it.” She linked arms with Willow and led her over to the couch, shooing away some potentials.

Faith smirked and went to look for Jack, Martha and the Doctor. She guessed that it was time to go. Buffy was safe and she had told India and Willow everything she knew. The rest would be up to them. She had her own world to get back to.

“I heard you were back,” a voice then said from behind her, a rather familiar voice.

Faith turned around, feeling a little odd. 

“I couldn’t really believe it; had to see you with my own eyes.”

Faith stared at her, her eyes taking in the young woman from head to toe. She kind of looked like her, but at the same time so wasn’t her. She definitely wouldn’t wear pink! And were that manicured fingernails? Faith had never had a manicure in her life.

“You look… different.”

“You could say that,” Faith said and blinked. It was rude to stare after all, and she didn’t really want to be rude to herself. 

“I guess being the slayer changes someone.”

Faith snorted slightly. “Sorry, but I was never like you.” It took only one look, to know that this Faith Lehane must have lived a completely different life than her.

“What do we have here?” Jack asked as he stepped towards them.

Faith glanced at Jack. He had that flirty tone in his voice and was eyeing her, or better both of them, in a rather naughty way. She smirked but crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Think about what?” the other Faith asked.

Faith groaned, then grabbed Jack’s arm and turned to leave. 

“Sorry, but we have to go. It was nice meeting you.” Or not, she added in thoughts.

“She didn’t even get that you practically undressed us with your eyes,” she muttered. 

Jack chuckled, then he leaned in closer. “That’s why I prefer you.”

Faith glanced at him and smiled. It felt good to hear that. Not many people preferred her over anyone. 

“You’re just trying to get into my pants,” she teased.

“Is it working?”

Faith snorted. She really did like Jack. “Maybe,” she answered as Martha and the Doctor came towards them.

“Ready to go?” the Doctor asked.

“Definitely. I’m so out of here,” Faith stated. 

“I don’t think she likes herself,” Jack said with a smirk.

“She so isn’t me.”

“I think she looks nice,” the Doctor stated as he headed for the door.

“Don’t listen to them,” Martha said and linked arms with Faith.

Faith glanced at Martha a little surprised. There weren’t a lot of people who linked arms with her in such a casual way. She kind of liked it.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Another AU Buffyverse:**

“I really thought this was it,” Faith stated as they headed back to the TARDIS. When she saw Buffy slaying a demon her hopes grew that she actually was home now. But Buffy seemed rather surprised to see her, since she apparently died during the last battle in Sunnydale.

“There are a lot of universes,” the Doctor said. “But we won’t give up.”

Faith smiled. It was nice that they simply stopped whatever they were doing to try and get her home. Apart from that she had never felt so comfortable in anyone’s presence right from the beginning. People usually didn’t get along with her that easily. She knew that it was mainly her fault. Was she getting better at socializing now or were they just easy to get along with?

“How about a drink?” Faith then asked. They were almost at the TARDIS, which was parked next to a club.

“A drink?” the Doctor asked raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve seen enough realities for today,” Faith decided. “How about having some fun before we leave again?”

“I like that idea,” Jack stated and already headed for the club.

“Why not,” Martha said and pulled the Doctor with her.

A few minutes later the four of them were in the club and Faith ordered some drinks at the bar.

“Oh no, not for me,” the Doctor objected.

“Oh come on.” Faith pushed the tequila towards him. “The last to finish pays.” That said she downed hers. Jack and Martha quickly followed.

The Doctor sighed, glanced at the tiny glass and finally downed it as well. It wasn’t like alcohol affected him as quickly as humans anyway.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Faith stated with a grin. “You’re still paying though.”

\----- -----

About an hour later Martha came back from the toilet. The doctor was still sitting at the bar, talking to a blonde. She looked a lot like Rose. Martha sighed. Then she glanced around for Jack and Faith. They were on the dance floor and obviously barely managed to keep their hands off each other. Great; everyone seemed to have someone. It wasn’t like she didn’t want them to be happy. She just wasn’t really in the mood to see happy couples. Looking around she felt even worse. The club was full of happy couples. It all reminded her of Tom and how she walked in on him and that woman. She really thought he was the right one. She even married him. 

“Can I buy you a drink?” someone asked and Martha turned around.

“You look like you need a drink and someone to cheer you up.”

Martha smiled slightly at that and nodded. The rather good looking man led her to the bar and ordered her a cocktail. Martha took the drink and sat down on an empty bar stool. Maybe a little flirt of her own would take her mind off of Tom.

\----- -----

The Doctor glanced around. Jack and Faith were enjoying themselves on the dance floor, but where was Martha? She had been gone way too long already and he was stuck here, listening to the blonde that reminded him way too much of Rose. He could barely stand to look at her.

He then finally spotted Martha at the other end of the bar. She was talking to a man who had his back to him. He wished he could just go over to her, but didn’t think that would be fair. Martha seemed to enjoy herself. He didn’t want to ruin that. She was rather down since they met again. Maybe things hadn’t gone so well with her fiancée. Some attention from another man probably would be good for her then and he definitely was the wrong guy for that, since Martha used to fancy him and he didn’t return the feelings in that way.

Emptying his drink the doctor excused himself, leaving the blonde at the bar. It might be rude to just leave like that, but he had to get out of there. Martha, Jack and Faith knew where the TARDIS was. They’d find him eventually.

\----- -----

Faith licked her lips and glanced up at Jack. He was a good dancer and looked hot even with suspenders. She wouldn’t have thought that was possible before she met Jack.

Swinging her hips seductively Faith then turned around and pressed herself against Jack, who didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. His arms travelled down her sides as they moved to the rhythm of the music together. 

Faith felt Jacks lips against her neck and was about to suggest that they head back to the TARDIS when her eyes fell on a guy that was leading Martha out of the club. Her slayer senses started to tingle. She groaned and stepped away from Jack.

Jack looked at her with a smirk. “Want to head back to the TARDIS?”

Faith sighed. She really wanted to.

“Later. Right now we have to make sure that vamp doesn’t drain Martha,” Faith said already moving towards the back door.

Jack’s eyes widened, then he hurried after her.

Faith swung the door open and rushed out. The vampire had Martha pressed against the wall and was leaning over her. Faith grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away from her.

The vampire stumbled back, then turned around and hissed at her. 

“You smell good, too.”

Faith smirked. “I do? Well, then the last thing you smell was good at least.” She pulled out her stake and flipped it in her hand.

The vampire’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize who he was dealing with.

“Slayer,” he hissed. “We’ve been waiting to get one of you.”

Faith frowned. She didn’t like the sound of that. Stepping forward she punched him in the face.

Jack rushed to Martha as Faith dealt with the vampire. She didn’t seem to be hurt.

“Jack?” Martha asked and started to sway slightly.

Jack quickly reached out to steady her.

“I’m right here.”

He briefly glanced to Faith, but the slayer seemed to have everything under control.

“How many did you drink?” he then asked looking back at Martha.

“Just 1… no, 2.” 

Jack rolled his eyes. “The first and the last one, you mean?”

“Get her back to the TARDIS,” Faith called.

Jack was torn between wanting to get Martha to safety and staying with Faith. But since the vampire was on the ground already Jack decided that Faith would be fine and started to lead Martha towards the TARDIS. Then four vampires suddenly jumped from the roof of the club and landed in front of them. Jack frowned and pulled his gun.

The vampires snorted. Jack shot and even hit one of them, but the vampire barely blinked. Oh great, he really needed some stakes.

“Stay behind me,” he told Martha and leaned her against a wall.

Faith staked the vampire. Then she heard a shot and turned around. There were four more vampires and they were heading for Jack and Martha. Faith sprinted forward and knocked one vampire away from them. Then something hit her in the back. She stumbled forward and got kicked in the chest hard. 

Faith ignored the pain that rushed through her and got up quickly. Unfortunately the vampires were between her and the others now. She’d have to get rid of them fast.

Jack continued to shoot at the vampires, but that didn’t really make a difference. It barely slowed them down, if he hit them at all. He knew that Faith was trying her best to kill them quickly, but there were four of them. She managed to keep three busy. That still left one for him. 

Jack wasn’t a bad fighter, but he was no match for this particular old and strong male vampire. It didn’t take long and he was knocked against the wall hard, bleeding from several small wounds already. The vampire glanced from him to Martha, probably wondering if she’d be tastier.

“Over my dead body,” Jack called and jumped forward. 

“Fine by me.”

Jack kicked and boxed as much as he could, trying to keep the vampire away from Martha and buy Faith some time. She had already staked one of her attackers, which meant he just had to hold on a little longer.

“Just hold still,” the vampire snapped, and then pulled something out of his jacket. 

Before Jack knew what was happening the vampire moved very quickly and drove a knife into his stomach. Pain rushed through Jack, paralyzing him momentarily. 

“That’s better,” the vampire muttered, pulled Jack’s shirt from his neck and bit.

Faith just staked the second vampire when she saw that another one sank his teeth in Jack’s neck. Her eyes widened and she rushed towards them. However, she didn’t make it. The remaining vampire she had been fighting kicked her in the knee, hit her in the chest and pushed her to the ground.

Her chest was aching, her head throbbing, but Faith wasn’t willing to give up. She never gave up and especially not when a vampire was sucking the life out of Jack! 

The vampire jumped onto Faith, who was trying to reach her stake, while holding him off with her other hand. Then the vampire suddenly exploded into a wave of dust.

“Hm, not that hard,” the Doctor stated and grinned down at her.

Faith jumped up, grabbed the Doctor’s stake and rushed towards Jack, driving the stake into the vampire sucking on his neck. The vampire exploded into dust as well. Jack blinked, then collapsed into Faith’s arms.

Meanwhile, the Doctor went over to Martha to check on her.

Faith put Jack down on the ground and noticed the knife in his chest. Her eyes widened. He was even worse than she feared.

“He needs a doctor.” Faith glanced around, then grabbed Martha by the arm. “You’re a doctor, right?”

“Leave her alone. She’s been drugged,” the Doctor objected.

Faith stared at him. What the hell was the Doctor’s problem? First he helped her, then Martha while Jack was the one in real danger.

“Then call an ambulance.”

The Doctor shook his head while kneeling down next to Jack. “He’s going to be fine.”

“What? You’re a medical doctor, too?” She had never asked what kind of doctor he actually was. 

“Well, … kind of. But Jack doesn’t really need a doctor. What he needs is this…” He leaned over Jack and pulled out the knife.” He wasn’t sure if Jack would come back while the knife was still in his chest. If he did it would probably be painful. Besides that, leaving it in would just prolong the inevitable and definitely cause Jack more pain.

Faith’s eyes widened and she quickly leaned forward, pressing her hands over the now rapidly bleeding wound. You weren’t supposed to pull knives out of wounds. Everyone knew that!

“What are you doing?”

Jack groaned, then stopped moving.

“Jack? Jack!” Faith screamed. “No, don’t do that!” She couldn’t lose him, too! 

“Call an ambulance. NOW!”

The Doctor went over to her and tried to pull her away from Jack.

“Faith he’s going to be okay. He’ll wake up soon and everything is going to be fine.”

Faith stared at him and pushed him away. Then she leaned over Jack and felt for a pulse. There was none.

“It’s not going to be okay,” she shouted turning to the Doctor. “He’s dead.”

“Well, technically he is… right now…”

“What is wrong with you?” Faith snapped, interrupting him. She couldn’t believe this. Why was the Doctor acting like everything was fine? It wasn’t. Nothing was fine anymore! First Dean died and now Jack. She knew that she didn’t deserve to be happy after what she did in the past, but why did people she cared about have to pay for that? Why did they have to die?

Faith felt herself fall backwards, until she was sitting on the ground. Her gaze fell on Jack’s lifeless body. This couldn’t be happening. She should have kept him safe. She was a slayer; she should have fought the vampires off! It was her job. She should have been faster.

She then noticed that the Doctor was leaning over her, holding her by the arms and shaking her slightly.

“Faith, listen to me. Jack will be fine. He’ll wake up any second now. He can’t die.”

“But he did,” Faith muttered, feeling defeated and utterly alone. Then she scrambled backwards, away from the Doctor, and got up.

The Doctor stared at Faith. She wasn’t listening to him and he had no idea how to get through to her. He briefly glanced over to Jack. It was really time to wake up for his friend.

When the Doctor turned back to Faith she was walking away.

“Faith,” he called and cursed. This really wasn’t going well. He couldn’t run after her and leave Martha and Jack behind like this. He followed Faith a few steps and then saw that she was heading for the TARDIS. Good; at least she wasn’t running off. As soon as Jack woke up he could go and talk to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:
> 
> picspam for this chapter:


	6. alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TARDIS – Faith’s room:**

The door shut behind Faith with a loud thud. Faith winced slightly and leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. She had to calm down and take a deep breath. There was enough air in the room, even though she started to feel like she was suffocating again. 

Breathe, she tried to tell herself. Everything was fine, if she just kept breathing. No, nothing was fine! Jack was dead. She glanced at her hands and then her clothes, which were full of blood – Jack’s blood. Everything seemed red all of a sudden and Faith started to rip off her clothes as fast as possible. Then she hurried into the bathroom, locked the door and stepped into the shower. She needed to get rid of the blood. Maybe then she would be able to calm down. She couldn’t freak out. Freaking out was dangerous. Besides, she was a slayer. Slayers didn’t freak out. They dealt with whatever was thrown at them and moved on. But how was she supposed to move on? She had never been good with people. There weren’t many that she let get close to her. But a few had managed to get past the walls she put up to protect herself. Most of them were dead now. Why did they all have to die?

Faith hit the wall hard while water was running down her body. It reminded her of when she was in LA and tried to help Angel. She had hit the wall back then, too. She broke that wall. The TARDIS wall seemed to be more robust however. Her hand didn’t hurt that much either. She frowned. Physical pain might have been a good distraction. Maybe she had to hit harder. Her eyes fixed on the wall. However, instead of hitting it again she placed a hand on it. Jack said the TARDIS was alive and he seemed to love the ship. She couldn’t just hit it again.

She sighed at the thought of Jack, then slid down until she was resting on the floor. Pulling her knees closer she leaned against her legs and let the water stream down over her.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Outside the TARDIS:**

Jack opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he quickly sat up.

“About time,” the Doctor muttered.

Jack glanced around, trying to remember what happened. Right, they were behind the club and vampires had attacked them.

“Sorry. I was just enjoying the feeling of lying in the dirt so much,” Jack replied sarcastically while turning to the Doctor.

The Doctor smirked slightly.

“The vampires?”

“All dust.” The Doctor gestured around. 

“Good,” Jack stated and pushed himself up. Then he glanced around again. The Doctor was helping Martha up. But where was Faith?

“Take that,” the Doctor called and threw a stake over to Jack. He didn’t want any more bad surprises while they went back to the TARDIS. Not all of his companions were immortal after all.

Jack caught the stake. “Where’s Faith?” he then asked while walking towards the TARDIS.

“In the TARDIS. She didn’t really take your death well.”

Jack stared at the Doctor. “You didn’t tell her…”

“Nope, thought it would be funny to let her believe you were dead,” the Doctor stated in a sarcastic tone of voice. “Of course I told her. But she didn’t listen.” He sighed. He was a little worried about their new friend. “You should go talk to her.”

“What about Martha?” Jack asked as he reached the TARDIS, opened the door and waited for his friends to enter.

“She’ll be fine. She was drugged, but I’ll take care of her. You go talk to Faith.”

Jack nodded, closed the TARDIS door and hurried towards Faith’s room.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**TARDIS – Faith’s room:**

Jack knocked on Faith’s door, but didn’t get an answer. She probably didn’t want to talk to anyone. He surely wouldn’t want to either, if he thought she was dead.

He opened the door slightly and looked in.

“Faith?” 

He didn’t see her, but her clothes were scattered on the floor, leading to the bathroom. He could hear the shower, too.

He went to the bathroom door and knocked. “Faith?”

\-----

Faith sat on the floor in the shower. She didn’t know how long she was sitting there already. The water was still warm, but she was on an alien ship. Maybe the water stayed warm here indefinitely? She didn’t really care about that, but thinking about unimportant stuff like that was better than thinking about Jack or Dean. Losing Jack brought back all the pain about losing Dean as well. They were both gone and she hadn’t been able to save either. She barely knew them, but it already hurt so much to lose them. She just didn’t know how to deal with the pain anymore. Jack had helped to ease the pain about losing Dean. But now? What would she do now?

Faith then heard a knock on the door and someone called her name. It had to be the Doctor. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

“Go away,” she called after ignoring him didn’t seem to work.

“Faith, it’s me, Jack. Open the door.”

Faith’s head snapped up when the words registered. Jack? How was that possible? Could it really be him? Suddenly she remembered the Doctor’s words: He can’t die. Was it possible that he did mean that literally? She pushed herself up, shut off the shower and stepped out.

As if in trance she grabbed a towel, wrapped it around herself and slowly headed for the door. What if it was the Doctor after all, trying to lure her out? But it sounded like Jack, didn’t it? 

She finally opened the door and there he stood. It looked like the Doctor had been right. Jack wasn’t dead.

Jack quickly stepped forward when the door finally opened. Placing his hands on Faith’s arms he looked down at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Faith just stared up at him. The Doctor told her that Jack couldn’t die and now he was standing right in front of her. But somehow she still couldn’t believe it.

“You died.”

“I can’t die, Faith. I know I should have told you. I just…” He stopped and sighed. He simply didn’t like to talk about his immortality. He wasn’t really fond of it.

Faith still looked at Jack, her eyes travelling down to his shirt, which was bloody. She placed a hand on his chest, where the knife had been. Then she ripped his shirt open. There was no wound, not even a scar. She placed her hand on his skin, then glanced up at his face again.

“How?”

“Something happened to me, a while back. I was killed and then brought back. Since then I can’t die.”

“But you did.”

“Well, technically I did. But I never stay dead. I can’t really die.”

“You should have told me.”

“I know. I’m sorry…”

“I watched you die,” Faith stated, her voice changing from sounding defeated to angry. Then she pushed Jack away from her.

Jack stumbled backwards, trying to keep his balance, but as soon as he stood steady Faith pushed him backwards again, until he hit the wall rather hard.

Backed up against the wall Jack grabbed Faith’s arms and tried to hold her still. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. But I’m fine now. I’m alive,” he said trying to get through to her.

Faith stared at him briefly, then leaned forward and kissed him hard.

Jack was a little startled at first, but then let go of Faith’s arms, reached for her hips and pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss.

“Show me,” Faith breathed as she pulled away and looked up at him. Then her towel hit the ground and Faith started to pull at his shirt.

Jack didn’t mind in the least when Faith ripped his already ruined shirt apart and then tugged at his belt. He had started to feel a little lost, not knowing what to do to make Faith feel better. But now he knew exactly what to do.

Getting rid of his clothes Jack grinned down at Faith, then he leaned in and kissed her again. 

Faith wrapped her arms around Jack as he kissed her and slowly pushed her backwards until her back was pressed against one of the TARDIS columns. She usually preferred to be in control, but Jack was anything but a usual guy. The way he kissed her made her whole body ache. She also needed him to show her that he was alive.

Pulling away Jack breathed heavily. Faith really was a great kisser and one hell of a woman. Being with her made him feel alive. It wasn’t that he was afraid of dying. He knew he wouldn’t be that lucky anytime soon, if ever. He was immortal, but he hadn’t really been alive the past years. He had been a mess. This was the first time in years that he actually felt alive again.

Faith grinned when she saw the way Jack looked down at her. It made her feel special and wanted. Her hand travelled downwards and started to stroke him. 

Hearing Jack moan Faith couldn’t wait to feel him inside of her and started to move her hand faster. Jack groaned and pulled away slightly. Then he lifted her up so she was sitting in the somewhat y-shaped column. Spreading her legs wide he entered her in one swift move.

Faith gasped, crossed her legs behind him and started to urge him on. 

Liking her gasping sounds Jack kissed her roughly and started to move, first slow, then faster.

“Harder,” Faith breathed after breaking the kiss. As he complied she arched her back and grabbed the column for support. Faith had the feeling that he knew exactly what she needed as he took her hard and fast, making her pant.

It didn’t take long before Jack felt her come. The feeling drove him over the edge as well.

Panting heavily Jack leaned against the column for support and smiled at Faith. He loved the way her drying hair looked slightly tousled and her soft lips were parted in an inviting kind of way. He leaned in and kissed her deeply. 

Faith breathed heavily when Jack finally broke the kiss and then pulled out of her, stepping away. Wow, that really had been… amazing. And she had never been kissed like that after having sex. Not even Dean did that. She frowned. She just had really great sex with a very hot guy who luckily wasn’t dead and she was thinking about Dean? No, she definitely wasn’t!

Pushing away all thoughts about Dean Faith jumped down from the column, grinned up at Jack and walked past him.

Jack’s eyes followed Faith as she moved through the room, her hips swaying in just the right way. Damn, she was hot, and naked.

“So, convinced that I’m alive?”

Faith turned to look at him and smirked. “Definitely, but I could always do with some more convincing.”

Jack grinned. He definitely liked that thought. “Let me just take a quick shower, then we can work on that.”

Faith grinned and watched him walk over to the bathroom, wondering if she should join him. It wasn’t like she hadn’t taken a shower already, but who cared about that?

“Jack,” she then said silently.

He turned around to look at her.

“Don’t do that again.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “What, fuck you?”

Faith almost laughed at the way he said it. But she didn’t really feel like laughing. 

“Die on me.”

Jack noticed the way she looked at him and stepped towards her. 

“I can’t promise that…,” he started. “But I can promise to always come back.” He smiled slightly and brushed a strand of her hair out of her face, tugging it behind her ear. Right now he even felt like he might not mind to come back for a change.

Faith smiled slightly. “I can live with that.” She knew she’d probably always wonder if he’d actually come back when he died, but at least she knew now that it was possible or even most likely. 

She then pulled away and stepped towards the bed. She wasn’t really good with intimacy. Of course she had had sex a lot of times. But it mostly was just that: sex. This felt like more. It did feel intimate.

“So…,” he then said and Faith turned to look at him. “… what about the fucking part?”

Faith had to chuckle at that. He really knew how to lighten up the mood.

“You can do that again.”

He grinned seductively and made a step towards her.

“But now it’s my turn to be in charge,” she added and pushed him onto the bed. Then she climbed onto the bed as well and grinned down at him wickedly.

“I guess that shower can wait,” Jack decided, liking the way she was hovering over him.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Buffyverse:**

“It was right here,” Dawn said. They were now in the alley where Faith disappeared through the portal.

Willow stepped to the spot Dawn gestured at. She could feel the left-overs of the magic that were still lingering there.

“So, how is this going to work?” Dean asked, placing his backpack that was mostly full of weapons, on the ground beside him.

“I found a spell that will let me tap into the magic that was left behind by the portal. I will use that to reopen it,” Willow stated. She knew that it probably would have been better to find out more about the demons that opened the portal so that she knew more about its origin. But Faith most likely was in a hell dimension. They had to hurry. So when she stumbled upon a spell that would let her repeat whatever magic had been done in the same spot before, Willow had decided to use that. She knew that it would work. The trickier part would be opening the same kind of portal from the other side. But she had found useful spells. One of them would work. She even had a whole book about opening portals to other dimensions in her backpack, just in case what she was planning to do wouldn’t work after all. She was fairly certain that she would find a way for them to get back.

“Sounds good to me,” Dean said. He could hardly wait to go. Faith probably was in danger. He had to get to her.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Dawn said. She knew that they were probably going to a hell dimension, but part of her still couldn’t wait to go. Faith had been sucked into the portal because she saved her. She owed it to her friend to go and find her.

Willow nodded, turned to the place the portal had been and placed one hand into the air, where she felt the lingering magic. With her other hand she started to draw symbols into the air.

Buffy watched Willow and waited, her slayer senses tingling, as she felt the magic. Something appeared just behind Willow’s hand as the witch started an incantation. It looked like a small black hole, and it was growing.

“What are you doing?” a voice called.

Dean turned around and saw Ruby coming towards them. 

“Oh great. What the hell do you want?” he asked.

“I’m glad to see you again, too,” Ruby said. “How was hell?” She didn’t wait for an answer and turned to Sam.

“Whatever you’re trying to do, stop it now. You’re playing with dangerous stuff. This is really dark magic.” 

Dean frowned at Ruby and was about to tell her to go to hell, when Buffy stepped forward and glared at Ruby.

“You are really starting to annoy me. We opened the hellmouth, got Dean out and closed the hellmouth again. Nothing evil got away and no one died. I thought that would have shown you that we know what we‘re doing. But no, you think you know everything better again…”

“Just shut up,” Dawn suddenly called, feeling annoyed. “It’s too late anyway.” The portal was growing bigger and bigger and wind was starting to erupt, just like it had the last time.

Everyone turned to her, then to the portal.

“A portal,” Ruby muttered.

“Genius,” Dean muttered, then added: “Let’s go.” He grabbed his backpack, raised his gun and stepped through the portal first.

Ruby stared at Dean, then grabbed Sam’s arm. 

“Wherever this leads, don’t go. You are needed here.”

Sam glared at her. As if he’d stay back now that Dean went through the portal already.

“We’ll be back.” He turned to go after Buffy, who had followed Dean, but Ruby didn’t let go of his arm. Frowning, Sam turned to face Ruby and quickly punched her in the face. Yanking his arm free he rushed towards the portal, took Dawn’s hand and stepped through with her. He didn’t really like to hurt Ruby, but this wasn’t the time for discussions.

Willow didn’t wait to see what the demon would do. She stepped through the portal quickly, letting go of her hold on it, so that it would close behind her.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Whoverse – next morning:**

Martha was sitting on the sofa in the TARDIS living room, a cup in her hand. Taking a sip she grimaced.

“What is that?” she asked.

“Something for the hangover,” the Doctor answered.

Martha frowned. She wished it was just a normal hangover. She could hardly believe that she had actually been drugged. The guy had seemed so nice. But it hadn’t even been a guy. It was a vampire! The Doctor had told her about it when he checked up on her this morning. She didn’t remember much of the past night.

“You want to talk about it?” the Doctor then asked. 

Martha glanced at him. “I can hardly remember what happened.”

“Not last night,” the Doctor said watching her. He knew Martha probably didn’t want to talk about why she was travelling with him again or she would have said something already. He usually didn’t ask questions because he didn’t really like to talk about what bothered him either. But something was wrong with Martha and he wanted to at least offer to listen.

Martha sighed. She knew that one of them would ask what happened sooner or later. She had thought it would be Jack, but he seemed to be busy with Faith.

“If you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want to anyway.” The Doctor definitely didn’t mind her company. 

Martha managed a small smile when she heard his words. No matter what had happened between them in the past she knew she could count on the Doctor. It was why she had called him.

“It’s Tom… he…” She sighed and took another sip. It still tasted horribly, but her head was pounding and she felt a little nauseated. She however wasn’t sure if it was because of the drugs or her memories.

“I really thought he was the one. I even married him, quit UNIT and rejected the offer to work for Torchwood, so I could be with him.”

The Doctor looked at her. He hadn’t known that she got married. She probably didn’t really want him at her wedding. Well, it wasn’t like he liked weddings anyway. He wasn’t in the mood for happy couples since Rose stayed with the other Doctor. But he had the feeling that Martha and Tom weren’t actually a happy couple.

Martha was glad that the Doctor didn’t say anything; it somehow made it easier to go on.

“When I got home I caught him…” He voice broke and she couldn’t go on right away. “…with another woman.”

The Doctor sighed. Then he got up and walked over to the couch. Sitting down next to Martha he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said silently. He knew how she must feel. To see the one you loved with someone else was heartbreaking.

Martha leaned into the Doctor and let him hold her. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t need to. It was enough that he was there and held her. It eased her pain a little and she hoped she could do the same for him. She didn’t know what exactly happened between the Doctor and Rose, but obviously they hadn’t gotten a happy ending either.

Martha didn’t know how long they sat there together, but it must have been a while. When she finally drank the rest of the strange tasting anti-hangover drink it was cold. She grimaced once more, then turned to the Doctor.

“Would you take me back? I think I need to fill out some divorce papers.” She hadn’t even thought about what she was going to do before, but now she simply knew. She didn’t just want to run away. Of course it didn’t really matter if she was technically still married out here. She never had to go back to her own reality, time or planet. She could just disappear and start over. But she felt like she had to end that marriage as quickly as possible. Maybe she would start to feel better then. And she might feel like she could one day go back home, if she ever wanted to.

“And would you wait? I just want to take care of that. Then we can go as far away as possible.”

The Doctor nodded. “Whatever you need.” He got up and held his hand out to Martha.

Martha took it and got up. Then they walked towards the control room.

“You know, if you want I can find and get rid of him for you. Maybe drop him off on that nasty excuse of a planet Jack was hiding out on.”

Martha glanced up at the Doctor and smirked slightly. “You’d do that?”

“Sure, he’d deserve it.”

Martha wasn’t sure if the Doctor would actually do that. He probably knew that she wouldn’t take him up on the offer anyway, but it was still good to hear it. Her hand reached out, took his and squeezed it gently.

“Thanks.”

Once they were in the control room the Doctor went over to the console while Martha sat down next to it. He pushed a few buttons and the TARDIS went back to their own reality. As soon as they arrived there an alarm light went off and something appeared on the screen.

Martha jumped off the chair and stepped next to the doctor.

“What is it?”

The doctor looked at the screen and turned off the alarm light. 

“We’ll have to make a slight detour,” he stated. “After Faith came to our reality through a portal I made the TARDIS watch over that part of the universe. There's another energy burst in the same spot Faith arrived.”

“Do you think someone else came through a portal as well?”

“Probably. Maybe someone is looking for our slayer,” the Doctor said with a grin. “Let’s go there… to about 5 minutes before the energy appeared. We wouldn’t want someone else to end up in space.”

“Good idea,” Martha said. Ending up in space surely wasn’t fun.

The TARDIS shook slightly and rushed off through the time vortex.

“Open the door,” the Doctor then told Martha while expanding the TARDIS shields. “Let’s see, if we can let whoever comes here right into the TARDIS.”

“What if it’s not someone friendly?”

The Doctor glanced at her. “It most likely is someone coming to look for Faith. I don’t think one of Faith’s enemies would travel through a portal to another reality, do you?”

Martha shrugged and opened the door. “I guess not.”

“And if someone else fell through the same kind of portal it probably is a victim of the demons Faith fought. We can’t let whoever that is end up in space either.”

Martha nodded. There weren’t a lot of creatures either of them would willingly let end up in space anyway.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Dean felt a strong suck, then he landed on the ground hard. He groaned, but got up quickly, his gun in hand. Buffy appeared next to him within seconds. 

Using the momentum of the fall Buffy rolled forward and then got to her feet gracefully. Once she was standing Buffy quickly looked around for any danger. There didn’t seem to be any. Their surroundings looked strange and there were two people. She frowned. What kind of hell dimension was this? Something then hit her from behind.

“Sorry,” Dawn mumbled as she stumbled into her sister. Then she glanced around and raised an eyebrow.

“Where are we?”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude,” the Doctor exclaimed and stepped forward. “Welcome to the TARDIS. Nice to have you here,” he stated cheerfully, but then glanced at the weapons the people were holding.

“You mind putting those away?” he added gesturing at the weapons.

“Yeah, actually we do,” Dean answered, not sounding too happy. Wherever they were, it so didn’t look anything like he had expected it to.

Sam pushed Dawn slightly to the side when Willow came through the portal behind them. Then his eyes widened as Ruby appeared next to her. He really hadn’t expected her to come along.

“What are you doing here?” he asked not sounding too happy.

“Making sure you survive this stupid trip,” she snapped. Then she looked around. “Where the hell are we?”

“That’s what I would like to know,” Buffy stated.

The Doctor still eyed all the weapons, but decided to just ignore them while putting on his 3-D glasses. As expected they did travel through the void.

“You’re in an alternate reality, on board my ship. And there really is no need for any weapons.”

“An alternate reality?” Buffy asked at the same time as Dean muttered: “Why should we believe you?”

Martha stepped forward, standing next to the Doctor. She wasn’t too fond of all the weapons either, especially the guns. But she wasn’t afraid. She might not actually have met these people before, but she had met Buffy and Willow from another reality.

“You came for Faith,” she said and smiled.

“You know her?” Dawn asked.

“Yes, she’s here. Probably still in bed.”

“Guys,” Willow then muttered and gestured behind her. Where the portal had been they could now look out into space through an open door.

“I think we’re on a space ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:
> 
> picspam for this chapter:


	7. welcome to the TARDIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Whoverse – TARDIS:**

Buffy had seen a lot in her life already, but she guessed there were still a few things left that could surprise her. They were not in a hell dimension, but in an alternate reality, on board a space ship. On top of that the owners of the ship seemed to know her and Willow already, or rather alternate versions of them. Well, at least Faith was here and unharmed, if what these people told them was true. But they’d know soon enough. After the Doctor – what kind of person just called himself the Doctor? – gave them directions to Faith’s room Dean and Dawn went to find her. 

In the meantime Buffy stepped closer to the console, peering at it curiously. 

“Don’t touch that,” the Doctor said as Buffy’s fingers came way too close to the console. The TARDIS was a complicated ship and all sorts of things could happen if you pressed the wrong buttons.

Buffy held her hands up and stepped away from the console. “Just looking around. You don’t end up in a space ship every day. Or at least I don’t.”

“You’re taking it way better than the Buffy we met yesterday,” Martha said. 

“Really, what was she like? And what was I like?” Willow asked stepping closer.

While the three were talking the Doctor was taking some readings with his sonic screwdriver. Buffy was definitely a slayer. She gave off the same kind of readings Faith did. Willow seemed to be a witch, just like in that alternate reality. Her readings were exactly the same. He however had no idea what to make of the readings he was getting from the other two. The guy, Sam, was mostly human with an unusual power addition. The blonde woman however had almost no human traits. Her readings were totally strange, which made the Doctor curious.

“What are you doing?” Ruby asked suspiciously, looking at the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned at her. “Just trying to figure out what you are. I’ve never met anyone like you, and I’ve lived a while.”

“I’ve lived a while, too, and I don’t think I ever met anyone like you either,” Ruby answered crossing her arms in front of her chest. The guy was odd. There was just something about him…

“You’re not human, are you?” she added.

The Doctor smiled. “No, I’m not. I am a Time Lord.”

“You’re an alien?” Sam asked sceptically. Usually he’d assume anyone that wasn’t human would be some kind of demon or other supernatural creature. But they were in space over a planet that didn’t look like earth. The existence of aliens did seem a lot more possible all of a sudden.

The Doctor turned to look at him and nodded. “I’m from a planet called Gallifrey.” 

Sam stared at the guy. Wow, he was talking to an actual alien. He never thought he’d experience that. Or was the guy just making fun of him?

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

“That has to be her room,” Dawn said excitedly and knocked.

“Come in,” a male voice called.

Dawn frowned and glanced at Dean. Maybe they had the wrong room after all. Well, the guy could probably point them in the right direction. Opening the door slightly she looked in. A guy was standing in the room, a towel swung around his hips, his hair still wet.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. I think we have the wrong room,” Dawn quickly said.

Jack looked at the young woman and the guy that was standing behind her a little surprised. He didn’t know they had visitors. He was about to ask who they were looking for when Faith came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel as well.

“Dawn?” Faith called, a big smile appearing on her face. “What… how did you get here?”

Dawn glanced from the guy to Faith, not really feeling too happy. In her mind she had had that Fantasy of her being with Sam and Faith being with Dean. The half naked guy so didn’t fit into that Fantasy!

Dean’s eyes were fixed on Faith, wrapped in a white towel, standing in the same room as a guy who was only wrapped in a towel as well. He felt as if someone had slapped him. He had come to rescue her. He thought she needed him. But obviously that wasn’t the case.

Faith stepped forward, still smiling. Then her gaze fell on the guy behind Dawn. Her eyes widened and she froze. It couldn’t be… Dean was dead. Sam had told her that he was dead!

Dean was about to step back and get the hell out of there when he heard Faith’s voice.

“Dean?”

Damn, too late. He couldn’t just run off now.

“Hey.” He didn’t really know what else to say. But he couldn’t just stand there like an idiot. “Thought we’d rescue you from a hell dimension. But I guess you don’t really need rescuing. Seems like you have everything under control.” He tried to smile in a casual way, but wasn’t sure if he managed. 

Jack glanced from the two people that were still standing by the door to Faith. It looked like some of her friends had found a way to find her.

“Why don’t you come in? I was about to go get dressed anyway,” he said and walked towards the door. He had a feeling that something was off and they needed to talk.

When the guy came towards them Dean and Dawn stepped into the room to let him leave.

“Friend of yours?” Dean asked once the guy was gone, trying to sound as if he didn’t really care.

Faith was still staring at Dean, trying to comprehend what was happening. The past night she thought she had lost Dean and Jack. Now they were both here, alive.

“You’re not dead,” she finally said. “Don’t tell me you’re immortal, too.” She looked at Dean, not sure what to think or do. How could he be alive? Or was it even the Dean Winchester from her reality? But he said they came to rescue her, didn’t he?

Dawn had the feeling that the whole situation was rather awkward. Or was it just her? Dean seemed as cool as ever. Maybe it was just her own little Fantasy that had been shattered. She took a deep breath and tried to get a grip. Faith was okay and that was what was important after all.

“We got him back,” Dawn said. “Willow did some serious magic and we pulled him right out of hell.”

Hearing her words Faith turned to Dawn, staring at her now. Then her eyes went back to Dean.

“Hell?” Faith once more felt like she was having trouble breathing. First she saw the second guy she cared about come back from the dead and now Dawn said he had been in hell. The thought of Dean being in hell made her feel sick and scared.

“Yes, but it’s all fine now. Willow rocked and we got him back,” Dawn said trying to say something, just so no one would realize how startled she was feeling. 

Faith looked at Dean who averted her gaze and looked down. 

Dean felt Faith’s eyes on him, but didn’t manage to look up. The whole situation was bad enough without the whole hell thing being mentioned. He wasn’t really in the mood to talk about that right now.

“I’m fine now,” he then finally said. Then he glanced up. “Why don’t you get dressed and then we can get out of here.” If she even wanted to go back home with them. But Faith didn’t do relationships, right? So the guy didn’t mean anything. Not that it actually mattered. He liked Faith and they had had a lot of fun together. But that was it. They weren’t a couple and never would be anyway. He didn’t do relationships!

“I’ll go back to the others,” he added, turned around and left quickly.

Faith looked after Dean. Once he was out the door she sank down on the bed. 

Dawn hurried over to Faith and sat down next to her.

“Are you okay?” she asked her friend. Now that she was so close she noticed that Faith did look rather pale.

Faith turned to Dawn and tried to get a grip on herself. Her thoughts were racing and at the same time she felt like she couldn’t think at all. She really didn’t like to feel like this. She was the slayer; slayers were strong. And besides, everything was fine. Dean wasn’t dead and they had come to find her and take her home. Everything was okay now, wasn’t it? Well, there were two guys she was interested in now, but better two than none, right? Besides, they were going home now. Jack would stay behind. It was as simple as that. There was nothing complicated about the whole situation at all. She’d miss Jack, but they didn’t actually have a relationship anyway. It was just sex, like she had had more times than she could count. And once they were back home she and Dean… No, she wasn’t even going to think about it. She had no idea what would happen between her and Dean. It didn’t really matter anyway. All that mattered was that he was alive.

“Faith?” Dawn asked when Faith didn’t say anything.

Faith blinked, then focused on Dawn.

“Sorry. I’m fine. Just trying to get used to people coming back from the dead.” She then got up and walked over to the cupboard in which she had put some clothes that she got from the TARDIS wardrobe.

“I’ll get dressed, then we can go.”

Dawn got up as well. Somehow Faith didn’t really seem like her usual self. Maybe the whole situation with Dean and the other guy had unsettled her as well? Faith had thought that Dean was dead after all. Why shouldn’t she have been with someone else then? But now Dean was back. Maybe they could fix this somehow? 

“Faith,” she then said silently.

Faith put her clothes down on the bed and turned to Dawn.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Dawn said and stepped forward to hug her friend. “And thanks for pushing me out of the way of that portal.”

Faith was a little startled by the hug. Dawn was her best friend, but somehow the whole situation still felt odd. People usually didn’t hug her. She then however relaxed and put her arms around Dawn as well. It was good to have her friend back. And it was good to know that this really was her Dawn. She didn’t think another Faith pushed a Dawn out of the way of a portal, too.

“Anytime,” Faith answered as she let go of Dawn and smiled at her.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**TARDIS control room:**

Dean was leaning against the wall. Everyone else was chatting and in a good mood. They had found Faith and weren’t in a hell dimension. It was reason to be happy, but Dean just couldn’t seem to get into the happy mood. He frowned about his own stupid behavior. He was acting and feeling like a jealous boyfriend. What the hell was wrong with him? He sighed and then pushed himself off the wall. He would stop this right now. He wasn’t with Faith, so she could do whatever she wanted and so could he. Maybe it was time he started to act like himself and got to know one of the women in the room? It wasn’t like Faith was the only hot girl on this space ship after all. 

Looking around Dean’s eyes fell on Willow. She was good-looking, but she had a girlfriend. He had seen them kiss before they left the slayer school. It wasn’t like he minded girls kissing; and he definitely didn’t mind them doing it if he could join in. But he had no idea if Willow would go that way. His eyes then fixed on the black woman from this world. She was kind of hot, but he probably wouldn’t stay long enough to chat her up. Continuing to glance around Dean spotted Buffy and a smile appeared on his face. She was definitely hot and he already liked her anyway. Making his decision Dean walked over to Buffy.

\----- -----

Faith would never have thought that so many came looking for her. Maybe she really had managed to change after all. A few years ago most of the people here would probably have celebrated to be rid of her after all. 

Smiling Faith stepped away from Willow who had hugged her happily. Even Buffy had come, as well as Sam and a woman she didn’t know. Well, she’d probably get to know her at some point. Now her eyes went to Dean. He really was back. Her heart started to beat faster and she suddenly felt the urge to go over to him and throw herself into his arms. She had missed him so badly. But she wasn’t the hugging kind of person. Besides, Dean seemed to be busy talking to Buffy. Did he even notice that she was here? Why would he? If Buffy was in a room men usually didn’t notice anyone but the blonde slayer.

Faith sighed, then noticed Jack coming towards her. At least he didn’t seem to have forgotten her already.

As Jack reached Faith they heard someone calling: “Now that we found your friend, can we get out of here?” It was the blonde that Faith didn’t know. She didn’t look too happy to be here.

“Right. I’ll get started then. I should be able to open the portal back home within a few minutes,” Willow announced and went over to her backpack.

“I guess this is it,” Jack said looking down at Faith. He’d miss her. Faith really was something. She had managed to brighten up his life and make him enjoy living again; and all that in such a short time.

“Yeah, I guess,” Faith answered as Martha and the Doctor came over to them as well.

“It was nice having you around,” the Doctor stated.

“It definitely was. Now I’ll have to put up with these two on my own,” Martha said jokingly. Then she hugged Faith. She really had started to like the slayer.

Faith smirked and briefly hugged Martha back. It was weird to be hugged yet again, but Faith slowly started to like the feeling. It did mean that people actually liked her after all, didn’t it?

“Oh, and thanks for saving me from the vampires.”

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t do it on my own,” Faith said and glanced at Jack. 

“Hey, I did get one, too,” the Doctor exclaimed.

Faith chuckled. “Yes, you did. Nice job. And sorry for bailing on you.”

After Martha let go of her Faith saw that Willow started some kind of spell. She however didn’t get the chance to see what exactly the witch did, as the Doctor hugged her next.

“No worries. I’m just glad you didn’t run away,” the Doctor said. 

“Take care of yourself,” he then added before letting go again.

“My turn,” Jack stated chuckling and pulled Faith into his arms. 

Faith went into his arms willingly. Part of her felt like she shouldn’t hug Jack in front of Dean, but she pushed that feeling away. These were her last moments with Jack, who actually seemed to care about her, unlike Dean, who probably was still busy chatting up Buffy. Besides, she still did like Jack a lot.

“I’ll miss you,” Jack stated and placed a kiss on Faith’s head.

Faith let go of Jack and glanced up at him.

“Me too,” she admitted silently, then looked down.

Jack smiled slightly as he looked down at Faith. He had the feeling that she wasn’t really comfortable with the whole situation. She seemed a bit distant and almost… shy. He gently put a finger under her chin and pulled her face up. Then he leaned in for a goodbye kiss. Before their lips met they however heard a frustrated shout.

“It’s not working, is it?”

Willow frowned and turned to the blonde demon. She really didn’t like her annoying tone, but she was right.

“Just leave her alone,” Buffy said stepping next to Willow and glaring at Ruby.

“She’s right,” Willow admitted. She had felt magic building up, but the portal just wouldn’t open. She was still staring out into space through the TARDIS door. There was no portal and no way home.

“But there are other spells. I brought a book about portals, just in case…”

“You knew that it wouldn’t work,” Ruby said accusingly.

“No, I didn’t,” Willow said feeling annoyed. “I just like to be prepared.”

“Does this mean we can’t go home?” Dawn asked.

“No, it just means that it’ll take a bit longer, right?” Buffy answered and glanced at her friend. Willow nodded.

“Great,” Dean muttered, who noticed that Faith was holding hands with that guy now. He so did not like the sight of that. Being stuck here for even a minute longer somehow felt like torture.

“I’m sorry,” Jack said squeezing Faith’s hand slightly.

Faith glanced up at him, then to the Doctor.

“If Willow can’t get us home you will, right? I mean we’ll continue to search for the right reality.”

“Sure. I’ll get you all home,” the Doctor answered and tried to smile at Faith. The chances might be slim to find the right reality, but he wouldn’t give up, he never did.

“We’ll check out the next reality right after a quick stop to London.” He glanced at Martha, to see if she still wanted to go through with her plans. She nodded.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Whoverse – earth – London - 21st century:**

“We’ve got something to take care of,” the Doctor told Jack as he and Martha got ready to leave.

“Want me to come?” Jack asked feeling a little curious.

“No, we’ll be fine,” Martha answered. Telling the Doctor about her failed marriage had been hard enough. She didn’t really want to get into it again right now.

“You can keep an eye on the kids while we’re gone,” the Doctor said glancing around. 

Jack raised an eyebrow, but then chuckled slightly. “The kids and I will be fine. Don’t worry about us.”

“Don’t run off too far,” the Doctor said, then stepped out. Martha followed, took the Doctor's hand and the two of them left. 

Jack was curious about what the two were up to, but guessed he’d find out soon enough. He then turned around. Faith was sitting by the console, talking to Dawn and Buffy. Willow was in her room reading her magic book about portals. The others hadn’t come back from the rooms they had been given either.

“So, how about a quick visit to London?” he asked as he approached the three women.

“Really?” Dawn asked. “I’ve always wanted to see London.”

“We could go shopping,” Buffy stated, her face lighting up for a second. “… if we had any money that is valid here.” She had no idea if the money in this reality was the same as in her own.

“I do,” Jack said and winked at her. If there was one thing you got enough of after living a very long life it was money. He hadn’t needed much while he lived at the Torchwood HUB anyway, so his bank account was full. 

“You’d let us go shopping and pay for everything?” Dawn asked unbelievingly.

“Sure.” 

Dawn’s grin widened. Maybe the guy was not so bad after all.

“We can’t…” Buffy objected.

“Of course we can,” Dawn said with a mischievous grin, then she turned to her sister and glared at her.

Jack laughed at them. “I doubt my money will be any good as soon as we leave this reality, so why not use some of it now.”

“I’ll go tell the others. Maybe they want to come,” Dawn stated.

Faith chuckled at their enthusiasm. 

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**A few hours later – back in the TARDIS:**

Faith walked to her room, feeling rather exasperated. She would never ever go shopping with Buffy and Dawn again. They were just crazy when it came to clothes and especially shoes. Maybe she should have stayed in the TARDIS after all, like Willow, Sam, Dean and Ruby. But they were researching how to open a portal back home. Research was the job of watchers, not slayers!

“Back already?”

Faith glanced up and noticed Willow coming towards her, carrying several books.

“Already? We were gone for hours.”

Willow chuckled. “But you went shopping with Buffy.”

Faith groaned, then nodded. “I see your point.” She then went and opened the door to Willow’s room. 

“We decided to go to a pub or something. You should come.”

Willow dropped the books on her bed and then turned to look at Faith.

“Sorry, but I have a lot to read.”

Faith glanced around the room. There were books everywhere.

“I think you need a break. Besides, it’s not your fault we’re stuck here… temporarily.” 

Willow sighed. She knew that, but it still felt like it was her fault.

“I’m not really in the mood to go out.”

Faith frowned. She didn’t like the thought of Willow staying behind again, but she knew the witch well enough by now to know when she was set on doing something.

“If you change your mind, we’re leaving… well, when Buffy and Dawn have managed to decide which one of their new outfits to wear.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**About an hour later:**

Dean walked into the pub. When he heard that the others wanted to go out he felt glad about the break. They had been in the TARDIS library for hours, trying to find something useful about portals or any other way to get home. They hadn’t found anything and Dean was bored to death. Worse than that however were Sam’s attempts to figure out why Dean was acting all moody. Was it that obvious how he felt? Or did Sam just know him way too well? Hopefully it was the second.  
Determined to get into a better mood Dean decided to get some drinks and asked Buffy what she wanted.

As Dean left for the bar Dawn frowned at her sister. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, leaning close to her sister so she would be able to hear her over the loud music and other noise.

Buffy turned to her sister, not sure what she was talking about.

“Oh come on, don’t give me that look. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” When Buffy still didn’t say anything Dawn added: “Dean. You’re flirting with him.”

Buffy frowned. “I’m not flirting with anyone. If there is any flirting going on it’s coming from him.”

Dawn crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Buffy.

“Totally not interested over here,” Buffy exclaimed. She might have started to like Dean when he came back from hell, but once Dawn told her about how she and Faith met Sam and Dean there was no way Buffy would ever go for Dean. There definitely had been enough bad blood between her and Faith in the past. It was always Faith going after Buffy’s guys, but that didn’t mean that Buffy would do the same. She wasn’t interested in drama, especially drama involving the other slayer. They got along well enough at the moment and Buffy wasn’t going to risk that over a guy, especially since Faith seemed to be Dawn’s best friend now.

Dawn raised an eyebrow at that. But before she could say anything she spotted Dean coming back and handing Buffy a drink.

Buffy took the drink, looked at it and then at Dean. Frowning she downed the drink in one and then excused herself. She needed some distance.

“What was that about?” Dean asked.

Dawn just shrugged and then smiled as Sam appeared with drinks for them. He even still remembered what she liked to drink.

“Thanks,” she said beaming up at Sam.

Dean groaned and decided it was time for him to leave. He definitely wasn’t in the mood to watch his brother and Dawn making eyes at each other. Downing his own drink he went back to the bar.

\-----  


As the bar stool next to Dean got empty Faith quickly took the chance and went over to him. She had barely managed not to stare at him the whole time. She had no idea what to say to him, but she just couldn’t stay away any longer. Buffy was nowhere in sight, so this was her chance. 

When the guy next to him left Dean felt relieved. He smelled like he hadn’t showered in a while. Besides, maybe a hot woman would sit down next to him now. He could definitely do with a flirt. It didn’t take long and the chair beside him moved slightly. Dean turned to his right, ready to place a big smile on his face if he liked what he saw. What he hadn’t expected was to see Faith sitting down next to him. Where was Jack? The guy had been all over her when they were in the TARDIS and then he had taken her shopping. 

“Hey,” Faith said and smiled slightly.

Seeing her smile Dean couldn’t help but return it. She was even prettier when she smiled and damn hot, especially in that skirt and those boots. Every other woman in the pub definitely paled in comparison to Faith. No wonder he hadn’t managed to forget her.  
If things hadn’t gotten so damn complicated he would have dragged her out of the pub and found a place where they could… No, he wouldn’t even think about that. One more thought in that direction and he’d have to find the toilet to get rid of a very obvious problem.

While ordering herself a drink Faith tried to think of how to start a conversation with Dean. Then she sighed. Everything had been so simple and easy between them the last time. She remembered well how they met. She had been playing pool. Then he suddenly stood there, watching her. She knew in that moment that she wanted him, and she definitely got what she wanted. What she hadn’t expected was that he was a hunter and that they’d get rid of the demons in town together. 

“What?” Dean asked and Faith was pulled out of her thoughts.

Faith turned to face him. “Just remembering how we met,” she said looking at him and licking her lips. 

Hearing that a grin appeared on Dean’s face. He definitely liked the look on her face when she said that. Maybe she hadn’t forgotten how much fun they had together after all.

“So, what happened to calling each other when you’re in danger,” she then asked. When they exchanged numbers she had hoped he’d call even if there was no danger. She hadn’t expected it, but couldn’t help but hope. She really had thought they’d help each other out though. But he hadn’t called at all. He must have known there was danger, if he ended up in hell. It couldn’t have happened too fast for him to be able to call for help, could it? He didn’t just die after all, he went to hell. Good people like him didn’t just end up in hell.

Dean sighed and looked down. That really wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. He couldn’t just tell her that he’d never intended to call, even if he was in danger. Well, he might have called if they needed help with a job. But he so would never have gotten her involved with his ‘going to hell’ problem, which she obviously was referring to. It was bad enough that Sam had to try to save him and fail. He didn’t want to put that on anyone else, too.

“There was nothing you could have done,” he finally said. He had sold his soul and went to hell. There was no way to change that. Besides, it wasn’t so bad after all. He did come back, didn’t he? And he didn’t even remember hell. 

Dean had barely finished that thought when memories suddenly started to come forward. He saw images of a terrible place, could feel fear gripping his body, immobilizing him.

Faith stared at Dean. “I could have tried,” she answered. But Dean didn’t even seem to hear her. He was staring ahead now, as if he didn’t see what was in front of him at all.

“Dean?” she asked leaning in closer. There was something wrong with him, she could feel it.

“Dean,” she said louder this time and placed her hand over his.

Dean felt like he was trapped in a terrible place. Did he remember hell now, or was he even back in hell? Maybe he had been stupid to believe he could get away. But then he suddenly heard a voice. Someone was calling his name. No, not just someone. It was _her_. He could feel her hand on his now, too. He held on to her hand and the terrible images he was seeing started to fade away. He blinked and the pub with all the people in it came back into focus. He turned his head slightly and then he saw her: Faith. She was right in front of him. He wasn’t in hell, he was with her. Everything was alright now.

Faith had started to panic slightly when she noticed the look on Dean’s face. But then he blinked and gripped her hand. The force he used almost hurt, but she was a slayer, she could take it.

“Are you okay?” she asked as he looked at her.

Dean took a deep breath and tried to shake off the memories that almost overwhelmed him. 

“I’m fine,” he muttered in a rather hoarse voice.

Yeah, right, Faith thought. “What happened?”

“Nothing. I just kind of… spaced out for a bit,” Dean answered. He so wasn’t going to tell her what he remembered. Hell definitely wasn’t a place anyone should ever see. He didn’t remember much, but what he remembered was nothing he was willing to tell anyone.

Noticing that he was still gripping Faith’s hand rather firmly Dean let go of it and then got up. He needed some air.

“Where are you going?” Faith asked.

Dean didn’t answer her, instead he just kept walking. Frowning Faith got up as well and followed him. They were almost at the exit when Faith caught up with him and blocked his way.

“Dean.”

Dean came to a halt, feeling rather exasperated. 

“What?” he asked sounding annoyed.

Faith stared at him and flinched slightly at his tone of voice. It didn’t sound like he wanted to see or talk to her. Usually she’d leave in a situation like that, feeling annoyed and offended. But this was Dean and something was wrong with him. She had failed to save him once. If there was anything she could do to help him now she at least had to try.

The look on her face stopped Dean. What was he doing snapping at her?

“Sorry, I didn’t meant to…,” he started, then sighed.

“It’s okay,” Faith quickly answered. “I don’t want to get on your nerves, but…” She didn’t get to finish.

“You don’t,” Dean quickly stated. The last thing he wanted was for her to think she was annoying him or something. He just didn’t want to get her involved in his mess. He liked her way too much for that.

Faith glanced up at him and a small smile appeared on her face. It was definitely good to hear that.

“I’m just worried about you,” she then admitted.

That brought a smile onto his face as well. So she did care about him.

“I’m fine.”

“You weren’t a few days ago,” Faith said. “You were dead.” She sighed and looked down, feeling all emotional again, something she definitely didn’t like.

Looking at her Dean put a finger under her chin and lifted her head back up. The look on her face made his heart beat faster. Then he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

As he wrapped his arms around her Faith leaned into him and breathed in his scent. Then she finally relaxed and put her arms around him as well. She hadn’t thought she’d ever be able to do that again.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he held her close to him. Somehow the feeling and smell of her let him relax. Maybe it wasn’t fresh air he needed after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:


	8. old friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Whoverse – earth – London - 21st century:**

Once she had talked to a lawyer and filled out some papers Martha had been brooding in the TARDIS living room. If it was her choice they would have left right away. But Jack and some others had gone out to a pub. In an attempt to cheer her up the Doctor had dragged her to that pub as well. Martha wasn’t sure how that could make her feel better, but went along anyway.

Leaning against a pillar Martha glanced around. Most people were happy and laughing. She wished she could be like them. But honestly, when had she last been like a normal human? The song then ended and Martha felt relieved. It was karaoke night at the bar and the guy who had been singing really sucked. Hopefully the next one would be better.

The doctor then came over to her with some kind of cocktail. Martha eyed it sceptically.

“Completely drug free,” the Doctor promised with a wink. “Scanned it with the sonic screwdriver myself.”

Martha had to chuckle at that and took the cocktail.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the Doctor then muttered.

“What is it?” Martha asked, then followed the Doctor’s gaze to the small stage. 

Martha’s eyes widened as Jack Harkness started to sing: “Every little thing she does is magic.” She really hadn’t expected that, or that he actually could sing. On the other hand, was there anything he couldn’t do?

“Blimey,” the Doctor said and ruffled his hair.

Martha smirked, then watched Jack while sipping her cocktail. Jack really was good and the people in the pub seemed to love him. Of course they did. A smile then appeared on her face as Jack winked at her while singing the chorus. Somehow it felt like he was singing for her alone. But that was him, wasn’t it? He always made everyone feel special and managed to charm just about anyone.

\----- -----

“You’ve been watching me,” a voice said from behind Buffy and she shivered slightly. Without looking she knew exactly who it was. The voice sounded just as familiar as the man it belonged to. And of course he was right, she had been watching him, or better staring at him, since she first noticed him standing at one of the bars. 

Turning around Buffy glanced up at the man, her heart beating faster. His hair was brown, not blond and he was wearing rather odd clothes, but beside that he looked like Spike. Could it actually be him? They were in another reality, so this world’s version of him could be alive, or better undead. 

“What if I have?” Buffy asked and smiled up at him. 

Captain John Hart looked at the blonde in front of him. That she had been watching him wasn’t a question. She definitely had. Usually being watched was a rather unpleasant thing, because it meant that someone was after him, probably ready to kill him. It still was a possibility right now, but somehow he doubted that. The way the young woman looked at him now definitely wasn’t threatening. Of course that could just be well played, but he didn’t think so. There was just something about her. He couldn’t place it. But he kind of liked the way she was looking at him. Was that a hint of admiration? Wonder? Or maybe longing?

“Then I’ll buy you a drink,” he said leaning down close to her ear. “… for now.”

The sound of his voice so close to her ear combined with the promise of much more than just a drink made Buffy shiver all over again. Then his hand brushed her bare arm and Buffy’s eyes fixed on it. His hand had been warm. Vampire hands simply weren’t that warm. This guy might look like Spike, but he was human, so he definitely wasn’t Spike. Spike had been a vampire for a long time. If he’d stayed human in this reality he would be long dead.

Glancing up again Buffy then watched the guy go over to the bar and order something to drink. She could just leave now. But why should she? Okay, he wasn’t Spike, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t have a drink with him. It might be a bit weird to spend time with a look-alike of her dead ex, but when was her life ever normal?

Buffy smiled as the guy came back towards her with two drinks. Then he suddenly froze and turned to look at the stage. Buffy followed his look and noticed that Jack was on it, singing “every little thing she does is magic.” Wow, the guy could sing, too. As if it wasn’t enough that he was hot, had money, which he was willing to spend on her, seemed to have fun when shopping with women and was not undead. Too bad Faith had kind of staked a claim on him, too. 

Sighing Buffy then looked back at the Spike look-alike and went over to him. He was still looking at Jack.

“He’s good isn’t he?” Buffy asked.

John pulled his eyes away from Jack and looked at the blonde. “You have no idea,” he said with a grin, then handed her one of the drinks.

\----- ----- 

As soon as Jack finished his song he stepped off the stage, a frown on his face. He had just started to enjoy himself when his gaze fell on John, who was talking to Buffy of all people.

He quickly walked over to them and glared at his old friend.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Buffy was surprised at Jack’s hostile tone and looked from him to John.

“Checking out some unusual temporal readings,” John answered with a shrug. “Didn’t expect to find you here though.”

“You two know each other,” Buffy stated.

“Pretty well actually,” John said with a smirk.

Jack rolled his eyes, then turned to Buffy. “He’s right… unfortunately.” That said he grabbed Buffy’s drink and put it away. 

“You better don’t drink anything in his presence.”

“Ouch, now I’m hurt,” John said mimicking a hurt expression. 

“You put something in my drink?” Buffy asked staring at John. 

“Of course not. Why would I? She’s been undressing me with her eyes all evening anyway,” John said with a smug grin as he glanced from Buffy to Jack.

Jack was about to grab John, to drag him outside, when Buffy punched the guy in the face.

\----- -----

Finally alone, Dawn thought as she and Sam sat at a small table in the corner of the pub. Of course they weren’t actually alone, but no one they knew was in sight.

“Have I thanked you already?” Sam asked.

“For what?” Dawn wanted to know. “Getting you stuck in an alternate reality?”

Sam shrugged. Right now he honestly didn’t care about that. 

“Finding a way to get Dean back.” Having Dean and Dawn around was all that mattered to Sam at the moment. Of course he wanted to find a way back home, but they could work on that tomorrow.

“And for still wanting to spend time with me.”

Dawn looked at him surprised. “Why wouldn’t I?” 

Sam looked down at his hands, which were playing around with his glass. 

“I just left and never called, and that after we…” He looked up at her again, his eyes fixed on her face as he remembered the night they spent together. Faith and Dean had occupied his and Dean’s room, so he had been staying with Dawn. They had kissed for the first time that night and then one thing led to another. It had been her first time, and even though Dawn said that she was happy it was with him Sam still felt bad about it. Dawn was special, her first time should have been special, too, not a one night stand in a cheap motel, with a guy that didn’t call her afterwards.

Dawn took Sam’s hand and squeezed it slightly. 

“I could have called, too,” she said. She probably should have done that, but she didn’t want to seem needy and annoy him, if he didn’t like her the same way she liked him. That sounded stupid now. He did really like her, didn’t he? It felt like he did.

“Besides, let’s not dwell on the past. We’re together now…,” Dawn said. Then she froze. They were together, weren’t they? They hadn’t actually talked about it. Sure, Sam acted liked he wanted to be with her, too. But did he really want a relationship? Or was she just imagining it because she wanted to be with him so desperately?

Sam started to smile and then leaned in closer. 

“Yes, we are,” he said before kissing her.

When they broke apart Dawn was breathing heavily. Looking up at him she then smiled. 

“Together as in… a couple?” she asked silently. It felt like he had meant that, but she just had to make sure.

A grin appeared on Sam’s face. “Yes, as in a couple,” he said, feeling happier than he had in a long time. Having a girlfriend just seemed impossible the past years. He didn’t know what the future would bring, but he was done being single. He wanted to be with Dawn and it seemed possible right now. No matter what would happen tomorrow or the days after that, he’d do anything to keep it that way.

The smile on Dawn’s face widened. She leaned in to kiss him again when she was distracted by a commotion a few feet away.

Sam followed Dawn’s gaze when she suddenly looked away. Then he sighed. A fight had started. And by the looks of it Buffy was in the middle of it.

\----- -----

Buffy stepped out of the way as a guy fell back towards her. She really hadn’t meant to start a bar fight when she hit that sneaky Spike look-alike. But he stumbled backwards and into a guy who spilled his drink over someone else. Before Buffy knew what was happening all hell broke loose. Of course she could knock any of the fighters down, but she had done enough damage already.

“Let’s get out of here,” the Doctor suddenly said very close to her ear. Then he took her hand and pulled her towards the exit.

Once outside Buffy looked around, trying to spot Dawn. Luckily she was coming towards her already with Sam and Martha.

“What happened?” Dawn wanted to know.

“Ha, that was fun,” John Hart called as he came to a halt next to them. Buffy glared at him, feeling the urge to hit him again. She wasn’t even sure why she reacted like that. Sure, the guy was an ass, but she had met guys like him before. Maybe it was because he was an ass and looked like someone she cared a lot about?

“And you definitely do NOT hit like a girl,” he added gesturing at Buffy.

Dawn stared at the guy whose nose was bleeding. Then she glanced at her sister.

“He’s not…”

“No, definitely not!” Buffy answered.

“You’re bleeding,” Martha said stepping towards John. “I’m a doctor.”

“Just leave him,” Jack objected, placing a hand on her arm. “He’ll be fine.”

“How about we get back to the TARDIS,” the Doctor then suggested. “We don’t want to be here when the police arrives.”

“Where are Faith and Dean?” Dawn asked.

“Over here,” Faith called.

“Alright, that’s everyone, isn’t it?” the Doctor asked looking around. Blimey, they were a lot of people. Had he ever had that many companions? How was he supposed to keep track of all of them?

“Yes, that’s everyone who came to the pub,” Jack said.

The Doctor sighed in relief.

“Allons-y,” he then called and started to head off quickly.

Jack glanced at John who seemed to want to follow. 

“You’re not coming!” he stated.

“Oh come on. We were having so much fun.”

“Yeah right.”

“I wasn’t planning to hang around anyway,” John said defensively. Then he hurried off in another direction.

“Until the next time, Jack.”

Jack frowned, then followed the others.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**The next day – TARDIS:**

The Doctor pressed a few buttons and the TARDIS shook. Then, a few moments later she came to a halt.

“So, we could be home now?” Buffy asked as she straightened up. 

“Theoretically yes,” the Doctor answered.

“Okay, then let’s check it out,” she decided, but then hesitated.

“Where are Dawn and Sam?”

“Probably still in bed,” Dean answered.

“Both of them?” Buffy asked. Then her eyes widened. “You don’t mean together?” She didn’t even wait for an answer but walked off instead.

Faith quickly stepped in her way. “What are you doing?”

“I have to…”

“No you don’t. Seriously, Buffy, you want to storm into their room? And do what exactly?”

Buffy glared at the other slayer, but stopped.

“Am I supposed to just let her…”

“She’s 20 Buffy!”

“Exactly, she shouldn’t…”

“How old were you when Angel lost his soul?”

Buffy stared at Faith, then scowled. She really felt like punching someone again. But messing up things with Faith really wasn’t a good idea. Twirling around she headed for the door and rushed out of the TARDIS.

Faith glanced around and shrugged.

“We landed? Great,” Ruby announced entering the control room. Then she marched through the room and out the door. 

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. What had he gotten himself into with this lot? Sighing he then headed for the door as well. Just before he reached it the door swung shut however.

“What?” the Doctor called, then twirled around and stared at the console as the TARDIS flew off by itself.

“What’s happening?” Faith asked as she tried to reach the console without falling. The ride was anything but smooth again.

“I have no idea,” the Doctor muttered as he reached the console and pressed a few buttons. Then they came to a halt once more.

“What did you do that for?” he asked as he glanced up at his ship. Then something showed up on the TARDIS screen. The Doctor pulled his glasses out and put them on. Then he peered at the screen closely.

“What?”

“What is it, Doctor?” Jack asked stepping closer. But he didn’t get an answer. Instead the Doctor rushed through the room and out the door.

Faith ran after him, followed by Jack, Dean and Martha.

Once outside Faith didn’t see Buffy or Ruby anywhere. 

“We went somewhere else.”

“Yes, we did,” the Doctor stated.

“But what about Buffy and Ruby?” Faith wanted to know.

“Not now,” the Doctor called while taking some reading with the sonic screwdriver.

Faith frowned and stepped in front of the Doctor. “We can’t just leave them behind.” She might not be that close to Buffy and might not even like Ruby, but they couldn’t just leave them behind!

“We won’t,” Jack said. Then he glanced at the Doctor. “Right?”

The Doctor blinked and glanced at them. “Of course not. We’ll be back there just a second after we left.”

Faith frowned, but let it go. 

“But why are we here?” Dean wanted to know.

“The TARDIS brought us here. Something important must be going on,” Martha said as the Doctor rushed off, screwdriver held up.

Turning around a corner the Doctor then froze. Another TARDIS was standing a few feet away and a man was dragging an unconscious woman towards it.

Jack came to a halt next to the Doctor. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. Then he pulled his gun and shot at the man.

“Leave her alone,” the Doctor called as he walked forward.

“Oh, Doctor, you’re such a spoil sport. I was just getting her home to you.”

The Doctor continued to walk towards them, anger showing on his face. “Get away from her!”

“You heard him,” Jack called pointing his gun at the man he loathed more than anyone else.

“Alright, you can have her… for now. See ya.” That said he disappeared in his TARDIS and shut the door. Within seconds the ship disappeared.

The Doctor rushed towards the young woman on the ground. Kneeling down beside her he then gently lifted her head.

Faith glanced from Jack who was rushing to the Doctor and the woman to Martha who looked rather pale. 

“What’s going on? Who was that?” 

Martha blinked, then glanced at Faith. “The Master,” she breathed silently. Then she turned away and hurried after the others.

Faith shared a look with Dean, then they followed. 

\----- -----

“Rose, can you hear me?” the Doctor asked, worry written all over his face.

“Her pulse is strong. She’s going to be okay,” Martha said.

“We should get her back to the TARDIS,” Jack stated.

“I can carry her,” Faith offered. 

Jack glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Slayer, remember.”

“I’ve got her,” the Doctor said picking Rose up.

Faith looked at him a little surprised. The Doctor obviously was stronger than he looked, too.

“Keep an eye out,” the Doctor said as he started walking.

Jack nodded, his gun in hand. Seeing that, Dean pulled his own gun as well. He had no idea what was going on, but he preferred to be ready.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**TARDIS – Rose’s room:**

“So, who’s she?” Faith asked, as she, Dean and Jack lingered by the door, while the Doctor and Martha were at the blonde’s bedside.

“A friend,” Jack said. “She used to travel with the Doctor when I first met him.”

“He cares about her a lot,” Dean stated, noticing the look on the Doctor’s face.

“The Doctor cares about all of his companions a lot, but Rose is special”, Jack said. The Doctor loved her, no matter if he sent her away and didn’t want to go see her when he knew he could do it without risking the destruction of universes.

\----- -----

Rose Tyler groaned and then opened her eyes. Everything was blurry and her head hurt.

“Rose, can you hear me?” the Doctor asked when she stirred.

“What happened?” Pushing herself up slightly Rose tried to focus on her surroundings.

“You were attacked by the master,” Martha said. “But you’re safe now.”

Rose focused on the source of the voice she just heard as her surroundings finally started to come into focus. She then blinked. She had seen that face before, hadn’t she? Yes, she remembered her.

“Martha?” she asked. Then she glanced around and her eyes fell on the Doctor. Emotions started to run through Rose, and she wasn’t sure if she should feel happy to see him or not. Her instinct told her to just throw herself into his arms. But he had abandoned her, left her with the other Doctor. Her heart started to ache at the thought.

The Doctor watched Rose closely, his hearts beating faster. She was right in front of him, but it still felt like she was light-years away. The look on her face showed him that she wasn’t that happy to see him. Well, he couldn’t blame her. He had sent her away after all. And she was with the other Doctor now.

“So, you’re still… you,” Rose finally said. 

A small smile appeared on the Doctor’s face. She had said almost exactly the same to him before.

“Yep, still me.” At least for now, the Doctor thought. He had been told that his song was ending after all.

Despite everything a small smirk appeared on Rose’s face. She simply couldn’t help herself. But then it vanished again.

“So, that bloke, he wasn’t you!?”

“Who?” the Doctor asked. Then his eyes narrowed. “The Master?”

“Oh no, that so wasn’t the Doctor,” Martha said. If anything the Master was the complete opposite of the Doctor.

“He said he was you. Had to regenerate and then found a way to come and get me.” Rose snorted. It just hadn’t really made sense. Why would the Doctor suddenly show up and ask her to come with him again? He had told her to stay with the other Doctor after all. She blinked and tried to keep tears from welling up. She wasn’t going to cry!

“I guess he didn’t take no for an answer,” Rose then added and rubbed her head. He had knocked her out. She really should have been more careful. But he said he was the Doctor, and he had a TARDIS. Why wouldn’t she believe him? She did and let her guard down completely.

The doctor’s eyes were fixed on Rose. She had thought that the master was him and came to get her. And she said no. His hearts started to ache and he felt like he wasn’t getting enough air. Trying to breathe in regularly he then sighed. He should have known. She chose the other Doctor, just like he had predicted. They were perfect for each other. He’d age with her and he was more human than him.

Martha noticed the look on the Doctor’s face. She had seen a similar look several times already. She always felt like hugging him and trying to tell him that everything would be okay, when he looked like that. But she didn’t think that that would be appropriate right now. Besides, Rose basically just said that she didn’t want to be with the Doctor. Martha still had no idea what had happened between the two of them, but she knew that the Doctor still loved Rose. It was written all over his face. Hearing her words must have been like a slap in the face. She sighed and then got up. Whatever was wrong between them, Martha was sure that it would be better to leave them alone now. Maybe they could work it out somehow? She hoped they could. The Doctor definitely deserved some happiness after everything he had been through. She then walked over to the door and gestured for the others to leave with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:


	9. Fangtasia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> Milerna (on lj) made a trailer video for the fic. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sUGl3MX2HI ;-)
> 
> The animation used in the fic was made by easy_to_corrupt on lj.

**TARDIS control room:**

“So, who’s that Master? ” Faith asked as she entered the control room with Jack, Martha and Dean. 

“He’s a Time Lord, like the Doctor,” Jack answered. “But he’s nothing like the Doctor.”

Martha nodded. Jack definitely got that right.

“What is he like?” Dean wanted to know. He had a feeling that this Master was bad news, so he had to know what they were up against.

“He’s evil,” Martha said silently. She had seen a lot of evil since she met the Doctor, but the Master was the worst of all in her opinion. He enslaved and tortured people for the fun of it.

“And completely insane.”

Martha then shrugged, trying to remind herself, that she was safe inside the TARDIS.

“We met him a couple of years ago. He managed to steal the TARDIS and turn it into a paradox machine. Then he brought perverted versions of humans from the end of the universe back in time. The Toclafane, he called them. Together they took over the planet.” She sighed, remembering how it all started. 

“The Toclafane’s first action, once they got here, was to wipe out 10% of the world’s population,” Jack added. He remembered well how it was to watch that while he was stuck on the Valiant, unable to stop the mass murder.

Faith looked from Martha to Jack, her eyes wide. She could see on their faces how much even talking about it still hurt them. She felt the sudden urge to step over to Jack and take his hand, which startled her a little. But Martha was quicker. It was probably for the best anyway, Faith thought and then glanced at Dean, who was standing next to her.

“The Master ruled the earth for a year. Humanity lived in fear, mostly hiding to try and stay alive. Others were brought to slave camps to built weapons for the Master to attack the rest of the universe.”

Jack glanced down at Martha and gently squeezed her hand. He knew what happened, had seen it on the screen in the Valiant, when the Master bragged about his achievements. But Martha had been out there, all alone, seeing it live with her own eyes. 

“How did you defeat him?” Dean asked.

Jack tore his eyes away from Martha and looked at Dean. But before he could answer Rose entered the control room, not looking too happy.

\----- -----

Rose knew she was probably acting childish, just running off like that, but she simply couldn’t stay and look at the Doctor any longer. He had broken her heart so many times and now he had the nerve to tell her that she had to stay with him because the Master was after her and it wasn’t safe for her otherwise. Screw him! 

Rose ignored the Doctor calling after her and headed for the control room. She really couldn’t deal with this. She sighed, hating the fact that she was acting like this, that the Doctor still had such an effect on her. Despite everything that had happened in the past she had been so happy to see him again and no matter how much he hurt her she would gladly have stayed with him if he just asked her to. But telling her she had to stay because she was in danger… She didn’t need his pity and she didn’t need him to keep her safe either, not anymore!

Entering the control room Rose then froze as her eyes fell on Jack, Martha and two others. She had kind of forgotten, that they were here. Seeing them didn’t exactly make her feel better. It wasn’t that she didn’t like seeing Jack again and she did like Martha as well. But they were here, travelling with the Doctor. He probably invited them all to travel with him, whilst he only wanted her around because he feared she might be killed otherwise. She snorted. What a joke!

Rose glanced at the door, wondering if she should just run out and get the hell away from all of this, when Jack stepped forward.

“You’re not planning to leave without even a proper hello, are you?” Jack asked and walked towards Rose. She looked like she was ready to bolt and he couldn’t let that happen. The Master had said that he would be back. Rose was in danger, but even more importantly she and the Doctor had to work things out. They belonged together. Jack simply couldn’t stand to see them like this.

Rose looked at Jack as he approached and spread his arms. A small smile appeared on her face as she stepped forward and went into his arms willingly. How could she be mad at Jack for travelling with the Doctor? And how could she even think about just ignoring him? This was Jack after all! He had always had a special place in her heart ever since she met him during World War II.

“Of course not,” Rose mumbled into his chest and then sighed as she held onto him. Being hugged like that was exactly what she needed right now. 

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**An alternate reality:**

Buffy blinked when she stepped out of the TARDIS. They just got up. It was supposed to be morning. But it was night. Weird; but Buffy was used to weird. And besides, she had other things to worry about. Who cared what time of the day it was?

As Ruby appeared next to her Buffy frowned. She was in a bad mood already. The last thing she needed right now was the bitchy demon. Then she heard a door slam shut and the TARDIS disappeared in front of her eyes.

“What the hell?” Ruby muttered. 

Buffy glanced at her, then at the empty place where the TARDIS had been seconds before. It just disappeared, left without them! They couldn’t just go and leave her here! They had no idea if this was the right reality. Besides, Dawn was in that space ship! And so was Willow! Buffy wasn’t sure how much she’d miss the rest of them, since she barely knew most of them, but they couldn’t just leave without her either! They wouldn’t, not willingly. She helped Sam get his brother back, helped Dean get out of hell. They owed her. Faith still owed her anyway. And she had gotten along well with Martha and the Doctor. They wouldn’t leave her behind, she was sure of it. And at the very least Dawn and Willow would certainly make sure that they came back. But still, she felt like stomping her foot and crying for them to come back.

“They can’t just leave like that,” Ruby grumbled.

“Oh get over it. They’ll be back. They wouldn’t leave without… us,” Buffy said.

Ruby glared at the slayer and crossed her arms in front of her chest. That was easy for Buffy to say. But Sam wouldn’t leave her behind, would he? They were sort of friends, weren’t they? Allies at the very least. And she had started to teach him how to use his powers after Dean went to hell. Ruby felt like they had gotten closer during that time. She definitely considered them friends, even if he might not. But no matter how everyone on that spaceship felt about her, if they were even happy to be rid of her, none of them would leave Buffy behind. The slayer was right about that. They would be back. But Ruby still didn’t like this.

Buffy frowned. “Do you ever stop glaring? It feels like that look is frozen on your face,” she said. Then she spun around and headed off. She already felt annoyed and agitated before the TARDIS disappeared. This situation definitely didn’t improve her mood. Neither did staying close to Ruby. She wanted to punch the demon at the best of times. If she stayed close to her now she’d probably do it.

Ruby was glad when the slayer rushed off. She was really annoying and Ruby couldn’t have guaranteed for anything if she kept talking rubbish like that. On the other hand, Buffy was the one the others would come back for, so she needed to stay close to her. And that obviously meant following her into the club that was a few feet away.

\----- -----

In her attempt to get away from Ruby, Buffy decided to go into the club nearby. She could do with a drink or two anyway. It didn’t take long for her to get inside. It probably was still early, or the club sucked. Buffy didn’t really care. She headed straight for the bar and ordered a Tequila. Then she doubled the order. One just wouldn’t manage to calm her down enough.

When the shots were placed in front of her, Buffy took the first and gulped it down grimacing. Tequila after breakfast, what a great way to start a day. Then her eyes fell on the huge sign that was hanging on the wall: ‘Fangtasia’. Buffy snorted and almost spilled the Tequila. The next second a guy with fake vampire teeth came towards her and asked if he could buy her a drink.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Buffy muttered. How the hell did she end up in a club for idiotic vampire fans?

“Get lost,” she told the guy and turned around to get a proper look at the place. Then she froze. A couple of people were dancing on platforms, if you could call them people. They moved way too fast to be human, even faster than vampires, although they sort of had vampire teeth. Were they fake, too? Were these some sort of demons pretending to be vampires? Or were vampires different here? She had a sudden feeling that this wasn’t her reality.

\----- -----

Eric Northman was sitting in his throne-like chair at the edge of the club, feeling bored. It was his turn to spend the evening at Fangtasia to make his customers happy. He had never really liked sitting around to be stared at, but lately it bothered him more and more. What was the point of it anyway? Right, keeping Fangtasia successful. That had been really important to him once. But not anymore. Nothing seemed important anymore, not since Sookie died about a year ago. She was human and it had to be expected that she would die sooner or later, but he hadn’t been ready to lose her. They had just started to be together, to explore their bond. Maybe he could have persuaded her to let him change her into a vampire. He thought he would have time to do that. But he didn’t. The fairies kidnapped and tortured her while he was too far away to do anything about it. He was on a plane, on his way to meet the king when he started to feel Sookie’s pain through their bond. It was the most horrible experience in his entire life.  
The memories were coming back to him, like they usually did when he was bored. Sitting up straighter Eric looked around, trying to distract himself. Thinking about Sookie wasn’t a good idea. He really didn’t want to go there again.

As his eyes travelled over the crowd Eric frowned. The stupid vampire wannabies with their fake teeth made him feel even worse. What was the point of all of this? What was the point of his existence? 

Then his eyes fell on a petite blond woman. He wasn’t sure why she caught his eye at first. Was it because the color of her hair was similar to Sookie’s? Did she remind him of her? No, she didn’t really look like Sookie at all. She looked different. He couldn’t quite place it, but there was something intriguing about her. She was different. He could see it in the way she moved and held herself as she leaned against the bar, ordering something. 

Then a guy went up to her, offering to buy her a drink. Eric wasn’t sure why, but he felt like ripping the guy’s throat out. Frowning about his sudden urge he then watched as the woman told the guy to get lost. A smirk appeared on his lips. He liked her already. He had the feeling that he had found the perfect distraction.

\----- -----

Still looking around the club Buffy suddenly felt like she was being watched. She turned around and then noticed a guy sitting in the corner of the club. She frowned. Was that supposed to be a throne? Then the guy lifted his arm and winked her over. It kind of looked like he was trying to summon her. Yeah, right, Buffy thought rolling her eyes. Then she turned to leave. This definitely wasn’t the right place for a slayer. Too many bad guys and not enough back up. Ruby surely couldn’t be considered back up at all. The demon might decide to stab her in the back at any second.

“Leaving already?” a voice asked suddenly. Buffy looked up startled. It was the guy that had waved her over. Buffy blinked, glanced at the ‘throne’, which was now empty, and then back at the really tall guy looming over her. He was fast and… hot! Oh no, she wasn’t even starting to think like that. The guy was definitely not human, and she was only interested in humans! 

“Yeah, this isn’t really the place for me,” Buffy answered and started for the exit.

“Too bad, I was going to get you a drink and give you my undivided attention,” Eric said as his eyes wandered up and down the young woman. She was definitely hot and her blood smelled better than anything he had ever smelled before, well apart from fairy blood.  
But that wasn’t just it. There was more to her. He had no idea what it was exactly, but he was determined to find out.

Buffy raised an eyebrow at that. She had the feeling that the guy was under the impression that she should feel awed and thankful for him paying attention to her. Yeah, right. He might be hot, but he was obviously even more bigheaded. And that really wasn’t attractive at all.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” she said and turned to leave only to find herself face to face with Ruby.

“We need to leave. Now,” Ruby stated. “This place isn’t safe.”

Buffy glared at her. “You think? What tipped you off?” she asked.

“I assure you, this place is perfectly safe. No one gets bitten here.” Unless they ask for it, Eric added in thoughts.

Buffy glared at the guy. Who had invited him to join the conversation? 

“They better don’t,” she answered in a threatening tone. This might not be her world, but Buffy was still a slayer. And as soon as the others came back she would talk to them about this place. Maybe they should…

“I mean it, Buffy. We need to leave right now. Something is going to go down soon,” Ruby said interrupting Buffy’s thoughts. “I overheard…”

Eric raised an eyebrow at the woman’s threatening tone. Not many people talked to a vampire like that, and especially not to him. This woman was getting more and more interesting. His attention then however shifted to the other blonde and what she was saying. Unfortunately she didn’t get to finish. A loud noise, sounding like an explosion, was followed by a ray of arrows. 

Without even thinking Eric grabbed the two women and pulled them down with him.

Before Buffy knew what was happening she hit the ground. The guy was on top of her, shielding her with his body. Then he shifted slightly and looked down at her. A grin appeared on his face, but then vanished again, right before he pushed himself off her and pulled her behind a knocked-over table.

“You alright?” he asked. 

Buffy just nodded, not sure what to think about the situation. Then she noticed that the guy had a small arrow in his arm.

As if just noticing it as well Eric looked at his arm with a frown. Then he pulled the arrow out grimacing.

“Silver,” he muttered, feeling annoyed.

“We need to get out of here,” Ruby muttered. Of course she could just vanish and materialize outside, but she wasn’t going to leave Buffy behind, no matter how tempting the thought was. Sam and Dean would probably never forgive her and besides, they were on the same side. Buffy might not believe it, but it was true.

“This way,” Eric said leading them to the front exit where people were hurrying out screaming. Since someone was shooting with silver arrows this probably was an attack on him. Blending in with other people seemed like the best idea to get the two women out. 

Buffy ducked outside, her slayer senses on high alert.

“Did everyone get out safely?” she asked.

Eric shrugged. He honestly didn’t care much about most of the people that had been inside.

“Eric,” someone then called and soon a blonde joined them.

“Victor’s people are trying to take over.”

Eric frowned. He should have known. He then turned from Pam to the two younger women.

“You have to leave now. Don’t look back.” As soon as they were gone he’d go and find Victor himself.

Buffy frowned. She knew the guy was probably right. This wasn’t her world. She had no idea what was going on. But somehow she couldn’t bring herself to just run away. It wasn’t in her nature. And besides, the guy had pushed her down, shielded her with his body and got hit in the process. She wasn’t about to just leave him behind, no matter what he was.

“Not before you tell me what’s going on.”

Eric and Pam both raised an eyebrow at that.

“Vampire politics,” Pam then said with a shrug, as if that would explain everything.

“Vampire politics?” Buffy muttered. Then she glanced at Ruby who shrugged, as if to say ‘who cares’.

“How about we do what he says and get the hell out of here?”

“And go where?” Buffy asked. “When the TARDIS comes back it’ll probably be a few feet over there.” She pointed to the spot where the TARDIS disappeared.

Ruby frowned. The slayer was right. She didn’t know enough about that alien ship to know if it would be able to track them down if they left this area.

“You can’t stay here,” Eric objected. 

“Says who?” Buffy asked glaring at him. 

Then four vampires jumped off Fangtasia’s roof.

Eric quickly turned around, standing in front of the others snarling. Pam quickly joined him and Eric hoped that the two of them would be able to keep Buffy and her friend safe.

Within seconds two of the vampires attacked Eric and Pam, keeping them busy. The remaining two advanced on Buffy and Ruby.

Buffy quickly pulled out her stake.

“How cute,” a vampire said snickering, then he lunged forward and was greeted by Buffy’s fist.

\----- -----

“You have no chance. Surrender and you may live,” one of the vampires called. 

Eric just frowned and hit the guy. Yeah, right, as if surrendering had worked so well the last time. And besides, he had wanted to kill Victor and his people for a long time now. The only reason he didn’t do it was because he knew the king would seek revenge. However, if he was attacked Eric had the right to defend himself. If Victor died in the process it was his own fault. But where was the sneaky bastard? If it wasn’t for the fact that four vampires were attacking them and Eric didn’t want anything to happen to Buffy and her friend he would have rushed off to find Victor right now.

As he broke one of the vampire’s necks Eric turned to make sure that no vampire made it past him and Pam. His eyes then widened as he saw the two women fighting. It didn’t really look like they needed his protection at all.

“Behind you,” Buffy called as she kicked her attacker in the knee.

Eric had been too surprised and stunned by the two women’s fighting skills and strength to notice a new vampire arriving. As he heard Buffy’s shout he twirled around and managed to partly divert his attackers arm. The other vampire’s knife still cut his chest, but it wasn’t a deep wound. He’d survive.

\----- -----

About 20 minutes later Buffy frowned as another wave of vampires appeared. It seemed that as soon as they killed one of them another appeared. And they were immune to wooden stakes! She really hated them for that. At least Ruby’s knife seemed to do the trick and the demon actually had Buffy’s back. Even though Buffy would never have believed it they actually worked together rather well, fighting off attackers long enough for Ruby to kill one of them with her knife.

“We need to get out of here,” Pam called when she saw the new vampires arriving.

Eric frowned, not wanting to give in to them. But he knew that Pam was right. They were greatly outnumbered. Maybe Victor wasn’t trying to take over on his own. Judging by the number of people he had on his side it looked more like the king was supporting him.  
Anger flared up in Eric and for a moment he wanted to tell Pam to leave and get the two women out of there while he took care of their enemies. A few hours ago he might even have tried to take on Victor’s army on his own. After Sookie’s death he didn’t really care anymore if he lived or died. But somehow he felt different now. It probably was because he felt like he had to protect Buffy and her friend. He didn’t even know why he felt that way. He only just met them after all. But he was damned if he let anything happen to the one woman that actually interested him. And besides he really wanted to know how she was able to fight vampires like that.

Turning to Pam he nodded. “Let’s go.” He then placed a hand on Buffy’s shoulder and gently pushed her into the opposite direction of the new arrivals.

Buffy didn’t need to be told twice. She knew when to fight and when it was better to run.

“Take them out of here,” Pam called as they rushed down a dark alley.

Eric stared at her. Then he nodded. Pam could take care of herself and probably had a better chance at survival on her own anyway. Victor was after him, not Pam. 

“Leave Shreveport and don’t come back looking for me. That’s an order.” For now it would be safer for Pam if she stayed as far away from him as possible.

Pam frowned, but then nodded and rushed off.

When Pam left Buffy frowned. She really didn’t like seeing the woman run off. Their followers were almost upon them and obviously faster than a slayer. If the four of them didn’t have much of a chance against them, how should just three of them win? She then glanced at the tall vampire who had stopped running. Would he leave them, too? But he didn’t rush away.

“Trust me.”

That said he grabbed her and Ruby around the waist and kicked off, flying into the night sky with them.

“Woah,” Buffy muttered as they rushed through the air.

\----- -----

Eric flew as fast as he could to get away as far as possible. He was starting to feel weaker and weaker and knew that he had to get as much distance between them and their attackers as he could. Then he landed, setting the two women down. 

As he looked around Eric frowned. Bon Temps, why had he ended up here? Of all the directions he could have flown in he had to choose this one? Then he sighed. He probably had chosen this direction instinctively because he knew his way around this town.

“The bus station is that way. You should try and get away from here as far as possible,” he said. As much as he wanted to get to know Buffy better Eric knew that he was getting weaker. If he stayed with the two women and Victor’s men tracked him down they might get killed because of him. If they left him now they probably would be fine. He couldn’t risk their lives just because he was intrigued by one of them.

“We’re not leaving,” Buffy said. They needed to stay close to the spot the TARDIS had disappeared from. And besides, the tall vampire didn’t really look so good. His shirt was all bloody and he looked even paler than he did to begin with.

“Are you alright?” she then added stepping towards him. 

“Buffy,” Ruby said placing a hand on her arm to hold the slayer back. They might be in a strange and rather different world, but that guy was still a vampire, a wounded vampire. He seemed to want to protect them so far, but who knew when he would lose control? His instinct to survive might kick in any second and he could try to feed on Buffy.

Eric stared at Buffy when she declared that they wouldn’t leave. He had no idea if she was extremely brave or plain stupid. She had gotten herself involved in vampire affairs. That alone was dangerous. Getting involved in a vampire take-over was even worse. Anyone with half a brain should want to run away as far as possible.

“I’ll be fine,” he then said, even though he had no idea if that was true. He really wasn’t feeling good and if Victor’s people found him like this… He needed to get some True Blood soon, or even better feed.

Buffy knew what Ruby meant, but for some reason she was really concerned about the tall blond vampire. Was it because she felt responsible for him getting injured? She wasn’t sure.

“Sit down and let me have a look,” Buffy said and pulled the guy over to the side of the road so he could sit on a rock. “And don’t even think about biting me.” She had barely made it out alive the last time she helped a wounded vampire and got bitten.

Eric smirked. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said a little sarcastically. Of course he wanted to bite her, especially since she smelled so good. But he didn’t bite people that didn’t want him to.

Sitting down he let Buffy pull his shirt up. Then he frowned. The wound looked even deeper now than before. It should have started to heal already, even if the knife was silver.

“Looks bad,” Buffy stated. Then she glanced up at him. “You need blood.”

If she hadn’t just told him not to bite her Eric would have asked if she was volunteering.

“There’s a gas station not too far away. They should have True Blood.”

“They have what?” Buffy asked and then glanced at Ruby who just shrugged.

“True Blood,” Eric repeated, but the two women had blank expressions. “You know, synthetic blood. You must have seen it somewhere already, or at least on TV.”

Buffy stared at the guy. Was he trying to tell her that this world had synthetic blood for vampires? It sounded too weird. On the other hand it would explain a few things. Vampires did seem more civilized here… well, apart from the whole trying to kill each other thing.

“What are we waiting for then?” she asked getting up. She could ask him more questions on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:
> 
> picspam for this chapter:


	10. new companions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The TARDIS:**

The Doctor stood in the hallway just outside the control room, watching as Jack held Rose. He wished it could be him holding her. But it didn’t look like she wanted that. She didn’t even want to be in the same room with him, or travel with him again. He knew that things would be different between them if they ever met again. But he hadn’t expected this. Of course she had her own life now with the other Doctor, and her family lived in this reality, too. But he wasn’t asking her to leave them behind forever. She could come back as soon as the Master was no threat to her anymore. And he’d even take the other Doctor along, no matter how hard it would be for him to watch them together. He’d do anything as long as he would be able to keep her safe. He had to talk to her again and make her understand that she needed to stay with him for her own good.

But before the Doctor could do anything Dawn walked past him, followed by Sam.

“Good morning,” Dawn called, a wide grin on her face. She walked over to Faith and stood beside her friend. 

Faith couldn’t help but smirk. By the looks of it Dawn obviously had a great night. She then glanced at Dean, wishing that she had been that lucky as well. But Dean hadn’t come and knocked at her door. Neither had Jack for that matter. She briefly glanced at the other man she was attracted to and sighed. It probably was her own fault that she spent the night alone. 

Dean grinned at his brother when he joined him. Then he clapped him on the shoulder. Things between him and Dawn seemed to be going well and Dean was happy for Sam. 

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother and decided to go over to Dawn instead.

Dean sighed and watched his brother put his arms around Dawn. His eyes then fell on Faith next to them. She was looking at Jack. The grin on Dean’s face abruptly vanished. After their little talk and the way she held him in that pub Dean had hoped that he might have a chance with Faith after all. She had really seemed to care about him. He had even thought about going to her room last night. Luckily he had decided against it. Jack probably was in there again.

“So, we home yet?” Dawn asked looking around. It was only then that she noticed that a woman she didn’t know was in the room.

“Not yet,” the Doctor said entering the room. Then he introduced Rose to Dawn, Sam, Faith and Dean.

Rose tried to smile at the people she was introduced to, but wasn’t sure if she managed. There were so many people travelling with the Doctor now. Who were they all?

“Faith and her friends came through a portal to our reality,” the Doctor said. “We were searching for their reality to get them home when the TARDIS suddenly brought us here…”

Rose stared at the Doctor. So it was the TARDIS that brought them here. The Doctor had obviously found a way to travel through universes safely and hadn’t come to visit her. He just accidentally showed up. It felt like her already broken heart shattered into even more pieces. If she had found a way to get back to him she would have taken it. She wouldn’t even have hesitated for a second. How stupid was that? Ever since she watched the TARDIS disappear from Bad Wold Bay she had tried to tell herself that the Doctor was trying to do what he thought was best for her; that he loved her even though he left. She was still upset with him for just running off, but she had hoped so desperately that he loved her anyway and that one day they would be reunited and he’d realize that all she wanted was to be with him, the real him. For a while she had pushed those hopes away and tried to be with the other Doctor, the one that had actually loved her. She felt stupid now for pushing him away at first. He wasn’t just a copy, he was the person she had always wanted, the one that loved her and treated her that way. Too bad she hadn’t realized that before he died. Yes, she had started to date him, but she had never truly allowed herself to love him. Now that it was too late she realized what she had lost and what she now would never have.

Noticing that the Doctor was still talking Rose blinked and tried hard not to cry. She couldn’t let him and all those strangers see how she was feeling.

“I need to leave. Go and find a way home for your friends. They seem to need your help. I don’t.” That said she rushed out of the TARDIS as quickly as she could.

“Rose,” the Doctor called, staring after her. Obviously she still didn’t want to come with him. He had tried to tell her that it would be safer for her to come with them until he could figure out what the Master wanted and how to stop him. He had just started to offer that the other Doctor could come, too when she ran off. Would it be that horrible for her to stay with him? She used to love travelling with him, used to love him. What had happened that she couldn’t even stand to be near him now?

Stepping towards the door the Doctor then realized that Jack was faster. His friend already rushed out, obviously trying to change Rose’s mind. The Doctor sighed, but guessed that this might actually be a good thing. Rose had seemed a lot happier to see Jack again than to see him. Maybe she would listen to Jack.

Without a word the Doctor went over to the console and turned on the screen to watch what happened outside. It was possible that the Master would come back and the Doctor wasn’t willing to risk Rose’s safety, even if Jack was with her. 

Martha walked over to the Doctor and placed a hand over his. It looked like things between him and Rose were even worse than she had thought. The Doctor squeezed her hand slightly and looked at her briefly. It seemed like he tried to smile at her, but failed miserably. Martha was about to ask if there was anything she could do when he pulled away.

“Sorry for the delay. We’ll get back to searching for your reality as soon as this is settled.” Hopefully it would be settled the way he wanted it to. He’d really hate to leave Rose behind knowing that the Master was out there and after her. 

Faith looked at the Doctor. He seemed so different all of a sudden. He had been this cheerful and enthusiastic person when she met him. But now all of that seemed to be gone. She guessed that it had something to do with Rose. She wasn’t sure if she should hope that Jack managed to convince the woman to come with them, so that she would be safe from that Master, or wish that she decided to stay here and left the Doctor alone. She then sighed, not sure what to do or say. The whole situation seemed rather awkward and Faith really wasn’t good with situations like that.

“What about Buffy and Ruby?” Dean then asked, breaking the silence.

“What about them?” Dawn wanted to know and then glanced around. 

“We’ll pick them up first of course,” the Doctor stated.

“Pick them up? Where are they?” Dawn asked.

“Another reality.”

Dawn stared at the Doctor. But before she could say anything else Faith pulled her to the side and started to tell her and Sam what happened.

\----- -----

“Rose, wait,” Jack called as he rushed to catch up with her. When she finally stopped he placed a hand on her arm and gently pulled her around to face him.

“I don’t really know what happened between you two, but you can’t just run away like that.”

Rose frowned at his words and wiped away a tear that was running down her cheek. Then she looked up at Jack.

“I can do whatever the hell I want. And besides, why does he want me to come with you anyway? It’s not like he cares about me.”

Jack stared at Rose for a moment, then stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms. She resisted at first, but then put her arms around him and let him hold her.

“Of course he cares about you. He’s just… the Doctor. You know him. He’s never been good at talking about his feelings, has he?”

Rose snorted at that. That was an understatement.

“But he didn’t come here by his own choice. He found a way to travel to other realities and didn’t come here right away.”

Jack sighed. “That’s true, but it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about you. Listen, I don’t know what happened after I left you, but I’m sure that this is all just a big misunderstanding. You should talk to the Doctor. And you definitely shouldn’t stay here and risk your life just because you are upset right now.”

Rose let go of Jack and looked up at him. She didn’t really believe that it was all just a misunderstanding, but there was a tiny part of her that couldn’t help but hope that he was right. She sighed. She was doing it again, hoping that the Doctor loved her back, even though she should know better by now.

“I’m not risking my life. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know the Master. He’s evil…”

“He probably is, but whatever he does, it’s not like he can kill me.”

Jack stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“Oh come on, Jack, you know exactly what I mean. Bad Wolf changed you, not wanting to let you die. You think it would let me die? It’s in me. It is me. Bad Wolf can’t exist without me. Of course it made me immortal, too.” She should have known it all along. It was so obvious. But her memories had been fuzzy. She couldn’t remember what exactly happened when Bad Wolf took over. She only knew what the Doctor had told her. And he hadn’t said much. She didn’t find out about Jack until she made it back to their reality either. But between the Doctor almost regenerating and them fighting Daleks, to try and save all of reality, they had been too busy to talk about much. It never even occurred to her that she might be like Jack, that she couldn’t die either. It wasn’t until aliens killed her in this reality that she found out. 

Jack still stared at her. Then he looked past her, staring at nothing in particular. “I’m sorry.” He knew from experience how hard it was to be immortal. A lot of people seemed to want to be immortal, but they had no idea how hard it was to outlive everything and everyone you knew and loved. 

Rose sighed. She hadn’t been immortal for that long, but she already knew that it would be hard. The same day she died for the first time, she had lost the Doctor – the other one. When she woke up after being killed and went to look for him she found him on the ground, dying. She hadn’t loved him the way she loved the real Doctor, but he had meant a lot to her, and in a way he was the Doctor. Watching him die had been one of the hardest things she ever went through. And she knew that it wasn’t the last time she would lose someone she loved.  
Knowing how hard that was made her feel really bad about bringing Jack back like that.

“I’m sorry, too. It’s all my fault after all.”

“It wasn’t you, it was Bad Wolf,” Jack said understanding what she meant.

“But Bad Wolf is me. It was because of me that it wouldn’t let you die.” Jack meant so much to her. Losing him would have been devastating and that was the reason why Bad Wolf brought him back. She was sure of it.

“It’s okay.” Jack gently placed a hand on her cheek, then leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. No matter how hard his life was, he couldn’t blame Rose for it. She didn’t know what she was doing and he was sure that she never would have done it if she knew the consequences. 

Rose sighed, feeling glad that Jack wasn’t mad at her. 

“But you know, you kind of owe me,” Jack then suddenly said and looked at Rose innocently. 

“So, how about you pack some things, say goodbye to your family and join us in the TARDIS?”

Rose stared at him, a bit surprised at his words. But then a small smirk appeared on her face. That was so Jack. He always got what he wanted, didn’t he? Well, except if he wanted to die. He would never ever get that and it was her fault.

“That’s blackmail!” she exclaimed. Then she sighed. 

Jack shrugged. “I know the Master and just because I can’t die doesn’t mean that meeting him was a pleasure. He actually enjoyed that I never stayed dead. It meant that he could kill me all over again.” His face darkened as he remembered the year on board the Valiant. But then he pushed away the memories. 

“So, yeah, if I have to blackmail you to get you to come with us, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Rose watched Jack’s expression as he spoke about the Master and what he did to him. Her hand then slid into his and squeezed it slightly in an attempt to offer some comfort.

“Alright, you win. I’m coming. I kind of missed you anyway.” A small smile appeared on her lips as she admitted that. She really had missed Jack. He always managed to cheer her up, no matter how down she was. She guessed that would come in handy when she lived in the same spaceship as the Doctor. 

Jack grinned, then put an arm around her and steered her back towards the TARDIS.

\----- -----

The Doctor exhaled in relief when Rose came back with Jack. He didn’t say anything when they entered, just nodded at Jack, thanking him silently. Then they went to the Tyler Mansion so Rose could pack, get the other Doctor and say goodbye to her family. 

While they waited for Rose to return the Doctor programmed the TARDIS to fly back to the reality they left Buffy and Ruby in. Jack was talking to Faith and Martha a few feet away, while the rest of them had decided to try and help Willow researching portals.

After about 40 minutes the Doctor saw Rose coming towards the TARDIS on the screen. She had a huge bag slung over her shoulder and she was alone. As the TARDIS door opened and Rose stepped in the Doctor stared at her.

“Alright, let’s go,” she said, not really looking at him.

“He’s not coming?” the Doctor asked.

“Who?”

“The other Doctor.”

Rose then looked at him, her expression blank as she said: “He’s dead.” Then she turned away and headed for the corridor leading further into the TARDIS.

The Doctor stared after her, then looked down. Was this why she acted the way she did? Was she mad at him for leaving her with a version of him that died on her? Or was it hard for her to be around him because he looked like the man she loved and lost? He sighed. No matter what her reasons were, she had every right to be mad at him. It probably was best to give her some space.

He then turned back to the console. They had to get Buffy and Ruby after all.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Bon Temps:**

As Ruby went into the gas station to get the True Blood Buffy stayed outside with Eric. He looked even worse now after the walk. She was starting to feel really concerned which kind of annoyed her a little. Why did she care so much about this stranger who was also a vampire? Well, he had protected her. She probably just felt like she owed him. And he had been attacked by evil vampires. As a slayer it kind of was her duty to help people who were attacked by evil vampires, right? This was all perfectly understandable and innocent. She wasn’t attracted to the tall good looking vampire at all.

Attempting to push those thoughts away Buffy tried to think about what Eric had told them on the way to the gas station. Not only did they have synthetic blood here, but vampires were also publicly known. It was hard to wrap her mind around that thought.

Eric sat on a bench and looked at the blonde standing a few feet away. She had sent her friend to get the True Blood and insisted on staying with him in case there was another attack. Ruby had not liked it but eventually took his money and left.

“So, why do you know so little about vampires?” he asked curiously. Vampires were out for a few years now and several of them were on TV a lot. It was almost impossible not to know about vampires these days. “And where did you learn to fight like that?”

Buffy turned to face him. “We’re not exactly from around here,” she answered, not wanting to get into details. “It’s rather complicated.” That was an understatement, but what was she supposed to say? We’re from an alternate reality and are travelling with an alien from yet another reality who tries to get us home? Yeah, right.

“I’m a slayer,” she then added. “I fight… evil creatures.” She couldn’t really tell him that she actually was a vampire slayer. And besides, she did fight other evil creatures, too.

Eric raised an eyebrow at that. She was rather vague. And what did she mean by evil creatures? It sounded like she meant supernatural creatures. But why wouldn’t she know about vampires then? He was about to ask when Ruby came back with the True Blood. 

“Thanks,” he said, took a bottle, opened it quickly and downed it in one. 

Reaching for another bottle Eric looked at Ruby. “So, you’re a slayer, too?”

Buffy snorted at the question.

“No, she’s a demon,” she stated before Ruby could say anything.

Eric looked at them, feeling a little uncertain. How could he not have noticed that Ruby was a demon? He usually could tell easily. Well, maybe he had been too preoccupied. It certainly would explain how she could fight like that. Nodding, he then emptied the second bottle of True Blood.

Ruby briefly glared at Buffy before looking at Eric. “Feeling any better?” Hopefully the guy would heal soon, so that they could leave him. They had to try and get away from him or risk getting dragged even further into those stupid vampire politics.

Eric looked up at her question and then frowned. Now that she mentioned it he noticed that he wasn’t feeling any better at all. After two bottles of True Blood he should definitely start to heal.

“What is it?” Buffy asked seeing his look.

“Nothing, it just takes some time,” he said not wanting to worry her and grabbed another bottle of True Blood. He had no idea what was going on, but he needed to get better in case Victor’s people showed up.

“It’s not working, is it?” Ruby asked after the last True Blood was gone.

Eric glared at her as Buffy stepped closer. “Do you need more? We can get more.”

Before Eric could answer a knife flew through the air towards them. Buffy and Ruby moved at the same time as him, stepping out of the way. The knife had missed, but a group of six vampires was coming towards them. Eric tried to step in front of the women, but Buffy held him back.

“Stay behind us. You’re in no condition to fight.” 

Eric growled at her. No matter how bad he was feeling he definitely wasn’t going to stand back.

Buffy glared at Eric who wasn’t listening, then the vampires attacked and she was busy defending herself. 

The vampires were fast and soon Buffy was flying through the air, crashing into the bench Eric had been sitting on. As she pushed herself up Buffy saw Eric on the ground. Two vampires were beating him up while another lunged at him with a knife. Panic was starting to well up in Buffy as she rushed towards them. She was determined to save him, but wasn’t sure how. These vampires were stronger than the ones she was used to. 

As Buffy started to kick and punch desperately, trying to keep three vampires at bay she suddenly heard a familiar noise and a breeze came out of nowhere. Then the blue police box appeared a few feet away. Buffy had never felt so relieved to see the alien ship. 

The TARDIS had barely materialized completely when the doors swung open and people started to rush out, joining the fight. Their odds suddenly seemed a lot better. 

“About time,” Ruby called and Buffy grinned. Then she hit the last vampire, who was looming over Eric, in the face, making him stumble backwards. Dean was standing behind the vampire and kicked it in the knee.

“Leave this one to me.”

Buffy would have protested, if Eric wasn’t still on the ground. A quick glance around showed her that the others seemed to have everything under control for the moment. She then knelt down next to Eric to check on him.

“Eric, can you hear me? Are you okay?”

Hearing Buffy’s voice Eric tried to focus on her and groaned, feeling weak and dizzy. He was bleeding from several wounds now and none of them seemed to heal. As he tried to move pain rushed through him.

“Don’t move,” Buffy said. Then someone kneeled down next to her.

“A friend of yours?” the Doctor asked. Seeing Buffy’s worried look he then nodded. “We should get him into the TARDIS. Martha can fix him up.” Then he sniffed slightly.

“Silver? Why does it smell like silver?” He leaned in closer to the wounded guy. “Uh, it’s you.”

Buffy frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that he smells like silver,” the Doctor stated, but then shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get him to the TAR…” He didn’t get to finish the sentence as something hit him from behind. 

“You take him,” the Doctor then called getting up and facing a vampire. “I’ll distract this one.”

Buffy briefly glanced to the Doctor, then Eric grabbed her arm. “Silver?” he asked.

“I have no clue what he means. He’s a bit… odd.”

“Silver is deadly for vampires,” Eric said in a strained voice.

Buffy’s eyes widened. She had noticed before that the vampires here didn’t seem to be fond of silver, but had completely forgotten about it.

“So, you still got silver on you somewhere? But you took out the arrow, didn’t you? Nothing got… you know, left behind?”

Eric frowned at her. But then his eyes widened. His arm had kind of felt weird after he was shot with the arrow, worse than it should have. He pushed his sleeve off the wound and his frown deepened. Was he just imagining it or did the skin around his wound look slightly silver?

Seeing the wound Buffy grimaced. “We really need to get you into the TARDIS. You think you can get up?”

Eric tried to push himself up, ignoring the pain in his arm and chest, but didn’t manage. Before he was even on his knees he collapsed.

Buffy caught him and slightly turned him around so that she wouldn’t touch any of his wounds. But even though he must have been in pain Eric didn’t make a sound. 

“Eric? Eric, can you hear me? Say something!” Feeling slightly panicked Buffy felt for a pulse, then frowned about herself. He was a vampire! A dying vampire. Somehow there was still silver in him, which prevented his wounds from healing and probably made them even worse. And it was all her fault. He had been hit by that arrow while protecting her. She couldn’t let him die. And there was only one thing she could think of that might help him. The synthetic blood hadn’t done the trick, but maybe real blood would, slayer blood.

“Eric, wake up. Listen to me. You need to feed, now!” 

Eric stirred slightly and she shoved her arm in front of his mouth. “Just do it.”

Apparently he didn’t need to be told twice. In almost no time his teeth pierced her skin. It slightly hurt, but in a good kind of way. It wasn’t like when Angel bit her. This felt totally different, almost erotic.

Buffy felt slightly dazed, then someone moved towards them quickly. Looking up Buffy noticed Faith, who was holding a knife and seemed to be ready to ram it into Eric.

“No,” she called and held out her free hand. “He’s with me.”

Faith stopped, but raised an eyebrow. “You do know that there’s a vampire draining you, right, B?”

Buffy almost had to laugh at that. Then Eric stirred and let go of her arm.

“No one’s draining anyone,” he declared and Buffy felt relieved. Eric’s voice was much stronger now; and he had stopped feeding on his own. She didn’t have to fight him off so that he wouldn’t kill her.

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Good for you,” she stated glaring at the blond vampire.

“If you’re done now, can we finally leave?” Ruby called.

Buffy smirked. Then Eric got up and held his hand out to her.

“Looks like you’re feeling better already,” Buffy stated as she got up with his help. 

Eric pulled up his shirt and Buffy could see that his wounds had started to heel. She smiled, glad that she had been right and her blood was powerful enough to help him.

“Thank you.” 

Buffy looked up at Eric, who was looking at her in a rather intense way. A shiver went down her spine. Then she was yanked away and pulled into a hug.

“Buffy, you’re okay,” Dawn said happily.

Buffy hugged her sister back, but glanced at the tall blond vampire standing next to them. 

“You coming?” the Doctor then called from the TARDIS door.

Dawn released Buffy and started to walk towards the TARDIS. 

Eric glanced at Buffy and raised an eyebrow. “A police box? And it’s kind of out of date, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s not exactly a police box,” Buffy said. “Why don’t you have a look? It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“After you,” he decided and gestured for her to walk ahead.

As Buffy walked towards the TARDIS she suddenly felt Eric very close beside her.

“By the way, you tasted amazing.”

Buffy looked up and there it was again, that intense look, that almost made her shudder. After staring into his deep blue eyes for a moment Buffy pulled her gaze away. No, she wasn’t doing this! She was not attracted to another vampire and she wasn’t going to flirt with him!

Frowning slightly Buffy walked into the TARDIS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posters / book covers for this chapter:
> 
> picspam for this chapter:


	11. the trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be some guest stars in the next chapters. They are all from the TV series Legend of the Seeker and come from after the series finale.
> 
> Kahlan Amnell: http://sot.wikia.com/wiki/Kahlan_Amnell After defeating the keeper and sealing off the underworld it was time for Kahlan to go back to Aydindril, where she is now.
> 
> Cara Mason: http://sot.wikia.com/wiki/Cara
> 
> Richard Cypher (Rahl): http://sot.wikia.com/wiki/Richard_Rahl
> 
> Zeddicus 'Zedd' Zu'l Zorrander: http://sot.wikia.com/wiki/Zeddicus_Zu'l_Zorander
> 
> After bringing Kahlan back to Aydindril safely Richard, Cara and Zedd left to go to the People's Palace in D'Hara. They are on the way there now.

**TARDIS:**

Eric pulled on the fresh clothes that someone had brought him. All of Buffy’s friends had been really helpful. Martha Jones, who was a doctor, had even examined him. He had tried to tell them that it wasn’t necessary, but Buffy had insisted, since he had almost died. Now Eric was glad that he had agreed to the examination. Apparently he had liquid silver in his blood, which had prevented the healing process. That was one nasty new weapon. Of course Victor was the one who had it. If it hadn’t been for Buffy and her slayer blood he’d probably be dead right now. A part of him wanted to go and find Victor right now, take one of his new weapons and use it on the bastard. But another part of him knew that if he left this strange alien ship now he would never see Buffy again. He couldn’t let that happen. Since she came into his life he had suddenly felt alive again. Well, not that he actually was alive. But he felt like there was something worth living for again. He still loved and missed Sookie and he was sure that he always would. But maybe he had found someone who would manage to ease his pain and make him happy again. It was definitely worth finding out. He couldn’t just let this chance slip away. And besides, this ship could apparently travel through time. He could go away for as long as he wanted to and come back shortly after he left, find Victor and kill him then. So, no matter how long he went away, Victor would still die soon. The thought brought a smile to his face.

“What are you smiling about?” a voice asked and Eric turned to see Buffy standing in the doorway.

“Just making plans for the future,” he stated while wondering how long she had been standing there already. Had she watched him get dressed? He definitely liked the thought.

“Do they involve another vampire war?”

“No, just one execution,” he stated grinning. “But that can wait. For now I have to see you home safely.”

Buffy stared at Eric, her eyes widening. “You what?” He couldn’t mean what she thought he meant. She had told him that she was from an alternate reality and that they were searching for her world. He couldn’t be planning to come with them, could he?

“I owe you my life. The least I can do is help you on your search for your home.”

Buffy frowned. Of course he had to put it that way. “You owe me nothing. You helped me first by knocking me down when the fight started, remember? And you got shot in the process. As far as I’m concerned we’re even.” And you can leave right now, Buffy added in thoughts. She really didn’t want the tall hot vampire around any longer than necessary. She responded to him in ways she really didn’t like.

“But the fight only started because they wanted me dead. If it wasn’t for me you would never have been in danger at all.”

Buffy’s frown deepened. “I’m always in danger. I’m a slayer. That’s my life.”

“All the more reason for me to accompany you.”

Buffy was starting to feel frustrated. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. But what was even worse was that a part of her actually felt happy at the thought of Eric coming with them. Why were it always vampires that attracted her so much? It wasn’t healthy and it definitely never ended well.

“This isn’t my ship. You’ll have to talk to the Doctor about it. I don’t think he’d want any more guests…” she said lamely.

Eric simply nodded, then he walked past her. “Let’s talk to him."

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**About half an hour later:**

Buffy couldn’t believe it; Eric had actually managed to convince the Doctor to let him come with them. But why was she surprised? With her luck she shouldn’t have expected anything else.  
When Eric went to get some things and especially a huge stock of True Blood, Buffy was tempted to try and persuade the Doctor to leave without him. But first Faith and Willow distracted her with stupid questions and remarks about Eric. Then Dawn and Sam caught her attention by kissing ferociously in front of everyone. She really needed to have a talk with her sister! If it wasn’t for Faith and Willow holding her back Buffy might have actually pulled Dawn away from Sam and had that talk right now.

Then Eric was back and Buffy realized that she had missed her opportunity.

“Crap,” she muttered, crossed her arms in front of her chest and went to sulk behind a column in the control room. Frowning she leaned against it. They really could use a few more chairs in here.

\----- -----

The Doctor watched Eric come back into the TARDIS with a bag and several boxes of True Blood. Then he stepped back out and got even more True Blood. The Doctor frowned, wondering if it had been a good idea to invite a vampire to travel with them. Well, he hadn’t actually invited him. The guy had asked if he could come along and the Doctor had been too lost in his own thoughts about the Master and Rose to really listen. He had agreed before realizing what they had actually been talking about. Well, the guy seemed nice enough. He apparently had a soul, unlike the vampires from Faith’s world, which meant that he wasn’t evil by nature. And he had helped Buffy and Ruby. Buffy seemed to like him. She even let him drink from her blood to save him. That should count for something. Besides, what did one more person matter? He had more companions than he could count already anyway. Or well, more than he could keep track of. He could still count them, luckily.

The Doctor waited until Eric had finally carried all his True Blood inside and closed the doors, then he made the TARDIS go back to Rose’s reality, from where he hoped to be able to follow the Masters trail. He hadn’t told anyone about this plan. He had promised the others to help them search for their reality. But if he could follow the Master he had to try. The other Time Lord was after Rose after all. He had to try and stop him. Following him was a long shot however. The Master was clever and since they hadn’t followed him immediately there was almost no chance that the Master hadn’t managed to hide his tracks by now. So, unless he was immensely lucky – which he doubted – there would be no trail to follow and they would get back to searching realities, which meant that there really was no need to tell anyone about what he was doing.

\----- -----

Jack entered the control room twirling a stake in his hand. Then he whistled as he saw all the True Blood standing on one side of the room. Someone was obviously planning to stay with them for a while.

“Need a hand with those?” he asked.

Eric glanced at the guy. “Sure.” Then he noticed the stake and raised an eyebrow.

“What are you planning to do with that?”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t bring that for you. You’re way too hot to stake,” Jack answered jokingly, but with a flirtatious smirk. 

Eric raised an eyebrow, but smirked as well. 

“Just thought it was time for us all to get stakes, seeing as we seem to run into evil vampires all the time now. And I so don’t fancy getting bitten again.”

Seeing Jack’s stake Faith walked towards him and Eric. Then she winced as she heard his words. She really didn’t want Jack to get bitten by a vampire again either, no matter if it could kill him or not. It definitely was a good idea for him to have a stake and for everyone else as well. She should have thought of that already.

Faith then stepped closer to Jack to have a better look at the stake.

“That’s not wood, is it?”

“Half of it is,” Jack stated and turned the stake slightly. “Wood for vampires from your world and silver for vampires from his world.” Jack gestured at Eric.

“That’s genius,” Faith stated with a grin. “We seriously could have used some of those in the fight today.”

Eric eyed the stake, not feeling too happy. But then again, these were all friends of Buffy and they had helped him. Plus he was travelling with them now. He should be glad that they had something to defend themselves with properly.

“Nice invention,” Eric stated. “Just keep it away from me.”

“Sure”, Jack said and put the stake in his pocket. Then he went to the True Blood. “Let’s get this stuff out of here first. Then I’ll get you all some stakes like this. And maybe one for you with an extra wooden handle,” he added to Eric.

Eric smirked, then the TARDIS suddenly started to shake and he stumbled forward, getting knocked down and slithering through the control room.

\----- -----

The Doctor grinned. There actually was a trail left that he could follow. He wondered for a brief moment how he could be that lucky, then the TARDIS started to shake, knocking him off his feet. 

True Blood and people started to fly through the control room as screams erupted. Then the door suddenly opened and a strong draft started to pull at everyone.

“No, no, no, no,” the Doctor screamed and tried to get back to the console. He needed to shut those doors. Then someone lost their grip and was hurled through the room.

“Rose,” the Doctor called as he saw that it was her. He grabbed the console with one hand and tried to reach Rose with the other. Images of Rose flying through the air towards the void rushed through his mind. He couldn’t lose her again! Then he felt her hand in his, but the force with which she was hurled through the air was too strong. Instead of holding her, Rose pulled him with her and they both got thrown out of the TARDIS.

\----- ----- 

“Nooo,” Faith screamed as the Doctor and Rose got sucked out the door. She had tried to grab the Doctor, but missed. Shocked she quickly glanced around. Everyone was holding on to something, but it was only a matter of time until someone else’s hold would slip. She had to close that door. If she jumped, maybe she could reach the door frame, hold on to it and pull the door closed. She had to try. She was closest to it.

Pushing away from the column she was holding on to Faith flew towards the door. She was sure that she would make it. Then someone flew into her from behind, knocking her right out the door.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**The Doctor and Rose:**

The Doctor opened his eyes and groaned slightly. He was on the ground and his body ached in several places. For a moment he wondered where he was, then he remembered what had happened. Rose! He quickly pushed himself up, ignoring the pain. Then he saw her lying right beside him, her hand inches from where his had been a moment ago. He hadn’t let go of her. But what good did that do? 

Turning Rose around the Doctor quickly felt for a pulse. He almost started to panic when he didn’t find one right away. But then Rose took a breath and opened her eyes.

“Rose,” he breathed, feeling relieved. She was alive and that was all that mattered.

“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

Rose blinked and her eyes focused on the Doctor’s face. For a moment she hesitated. He looked worried, didn’t he? Then she heard his words.

“I’m fine,” she said and pushed herself up, getting some distance between them. “You?”

Hearing her words the Doctor smiled, feeling even more relieved. 

“I’m good,” he stated. Then he got up and winced slightly as his leg hurt. But he ignored it and held his hand out to Rose to help her up. She ignored him and got up on her own. The Doctor sighed.

“Where are the others? And the TARDIS?” Rose asked glancing around. 

The Doctor looked around as well, and then shrugged. He had no idea.

Rose frowned. She really didn’t like this. It wasn’t just that she was alone with the Doctor, which she had planned to avoid, they were stranded god knew where and had no idea where the TARDIS was. Well, this was kind of typical. Something always happened when you travelled with the Doctor. Under different circumstances she might have actually laughed.

“Which way did we come from?”

The Doctor looked around again, sniffed a little and then gestured in one direction.

“That way, I think. Which means the TARDIS probably continued to fly this way.” He turned in the opposite direction.

“Let’s go and find it,” Rose stated.

They started to walk and Rose tried to avoid looking at the Doctor. Being so close to him was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Her hand kept wanting to take his. But she couldn’t do that. He had abandoned her! She sighed and tried to concentrate on their surroundings. It was just nature, nothing to indicate where they were. Then they arrived at the top of a hill and could see a bit further.

“Wow,” Rose breathed. “That’s a city, isn’t it? It looks amazing.” It actually looked more like a palace, no, more than one palace; several palaces in one city. What did you call that?

The Doctor grinned and turned to her. “Looks like a city to me. Maybe someone there can tell us where we are. And maybe they can help us find the others and the TARDIS.” Someone surely had seen a blue box hurtling through the sky and people falling out of it. And word usually travelled fast, no matter where you were.

Rose nodded and they started to walk again. She then hesitated and stared at the Doctor.

“Are you limping?” She hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she actually had looked at him… He was limping slightly.

“Nah”, the Doctor answered. “I’m good.”

Rose frowned. Apparently he couldn’t even admit that to her. 

“No, you’re not. Sit down and let me have a look.”

The Doctor turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “You’re as bad as Martha.” 

Rose crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“It’s nothing, Rose. Just a bruise or something from the fall. I’d feel it if it was something worse.”

Rose glared at him, not sure if he was telling the truth. She was about to say something when she noticed that the Doctor looked past her. Turning around she saw what he was looking at. A group of people was riding towards them on horses.

“Seems like we’re going to get company soon.”

“Yeah, and by the looks of them we’re not exactly in a modern world.”

The Doctor nodded, not feeling too happy about that. The TARDIS probably had crashed and who knew what he’d need to fix it once they found it. Well, he would have to do with what he had. And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He hoped it wouldn’t, and he really hoped that the others were okay. If not he didn’t think he’d be able to forgive himself. This had all happened because he tried to follow the Master. How could he have been stupid enough to believe that the Master hadn’t hidden his trail? Of course he would have, if he had wanted to. But instead he had laid some kind of trap and they had flown right into it! And on top of it the Doctor had fallen out of the TARDIS before managing to stabilise the ship. Frowning he tried to push away the thoughts. Blaming himself and brooding wouldn’t solve anything. There was nothing he could do about it now. He’d have to deal with whatever happened once he got there.

It only took a few minutes for the riders to reach them.

“Hello there,” the Doctor greeted them. “Nice to meet you all. I’m the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler.”

Rose gave them the best smile she could manage, hoping they’d be friendly. She really didn’t like the look of their swords, axes and knives.

“We ah… are a bit lost,” the Doctor then added when no one answered right away. “Could you maybe tell us where we are?”

A woman in a hooded robe slid off her horse and the others followed her example. Then she stepped forward, pushed the hood off her head and said:

“I am Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor, and you are just outside Aydindril.”

Rose had the feeling that the woman expected this to mean something to them. She glanced at the Doctor, but he looked just as blank as she felt.

\----- -----

**Dean Winchester & Jack Harkness:**

Dean woke up with a groan. His whole body seemed to hurt. For a moment he panicked, wondering if he was back in hell. But no, this pain was nothing against the pain he felt in hell. He still didn’t remember much, but he was sure of that. Opening his eyes he blinked against the sunlight that shone through tree tops. Then someone stepped towards him, blocking out the sunlight. Dean frowned. It was Jack. The guy definitely wasn’t the first person he wanted to see after falling out of a space ship. For all he cared the guy could have gone lost. It would have been the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. He sighed. That definitely wasn’t a nice way to think.

“You okay down there?” 

Dean glared up at Jack. “Still alive if that’s what you mean.”

Jack smirked and held out his hand to help Dean up. The guy hesitated for a moment, but then took it.

Once Dean was standing Jack looked around, taking in their surroundings. They could be on a whole lot of planets judging by the vegetation. It could even be earth. He pushed up his sleeve and took some readings with his vortex manipulator.

“Not Earth,” he muttered. The vortex manipulator couldn’t identify the planet, which meant that the Time Agency had never been here before. 

“What are you doing?” Dean asked. “And what do you mean, not Earth?”

“Checking our surroundings. And I mean that we are not on Earth.”

Dean glared at the guy. Apparently he decided to be as annoying as ever. Then he glanced around.

“Looks like Earth to me.”

“It looks similar, but trust me, it’s not. My vortex manipulator…” he gestured at his wrist. “… would know if this was Earth. And it can’t even determine where we are.”

Dean frowned, not liking the sound of that. They were who knew where after falling out of the TARDIS, the ship was nowhere in sight and neither was anyone else as far as he could tell. Apparently he was stuck with his least favourite person. Great!

“Let’s go search for the others,” he decided and started calling their names. Jack joined in, but no one answered. After a while Dean turned back to Jack and shrugged. Then he stared at the guy’s coat.

“Dude, you alright?” There was a hole in the man’s coat and if he was right the dark stains were blood spatters. It wasn’t as if I he liked the guy. As far as he was concerned Jack could disappear, but he couldn’t help but feel a little concerned.

Jack glanced at Dean and then down at himself, as if he only just remembered the hole in his clothes. Then he shrugged.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.” When he woke up he had a huge perch stuck in his chest. It had hurt like hell, but when he pulled it out he healed, which meant that he had died and came back… again. For a moment Jack wondered why he always had to be unlucky enough to die. It seemed that since he was immortal he died repeatedly, just so he would constantly be reminded that he could never actually die. As if he’d ever forget. But then he decided that it was better that he was the one who died instead of the people he travelled with. Most of them would not come back after all. And he really wasn’t in the mood to lose anyone else.

Dean raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. If the guy wanted to seem tough, fine by him.

“Alright, which way do we go?” He had no idea where they came from or which way the TARDIS had flown. 

Jack took a few more readings with the vortex manipulator, then frowned. “I don’t pick up any technology.” Of course that didn’t mean the TARDIS wasn’t here. The ship could blend in very well without being detectable. His readings either meant that the ships defence and tarn mechanisms had not been damaged or that the ship really wasn’t here. He hoped it was option one.

“What, you mean there is no frickin’ technology on the whole planet?” Dean wanted to know.

“Unless it is highly advanced and heavily concealed, no, there is no technology on the whole planet.” Which meant that, unless they found the TARDIS, they probably had no way off this planet.

“Great,” Dean said groaning. He was sure that he would not like this place at all.

“Let’s go find the TARDIS and get off this rock.” Dean had barely finished the sentence when he heard movement. He twirled around and saw three people standing there. One was an old man with long white hair. Beside him stood a blond woman in leather – she looked way hot – holding some sort of sticks. The third was a guy, probably about Dean’s age or a bit younger. He was holding a sword.

Dean and Jack both pulled their guns at the same time. The three seemed to raise eyebrows. Maybe they had never seen guns before?

“I do not know what kind of weapons you are holding,” the guy said. “But there is no need for violence. Unless you attack us we are no threat to you.”

Dean glanced at the sword and thought ‘yeah right’. The guy apparently saw his look and lowered the sword, his whole stance relaxing slightly.

“I am Richard Cypher, the Seeker.”

Dean glanced at Jack and both shrugged.

“You never heard of the Seeker?” the woman wanted to know.

“We’re not exactly from around here,” Dean stated.

“Where are you from?” the old man asked.

“Place called America,” Dean answered, not sure if that would mean anything to these people.

“It’s on a planet called Earth,” Jack added, but he didn’t think that that would mean anything to them either.

“What is a planet?” the woman asked, confirming Dean’s suspicions.

“This world sort of is a planet,” Deans aid, trying to explain. “And there are other worlds, up there in the sky.” He pointed upwards.

The woman frowned, but the old guy looked up and nodded, as if he didn’t think they were completely nuts.

“The wizards of old have long been wondering about the existence of other worlds,” he stated looking thoughtful.

“Wizards?” Jack and Dean asked at the same time. Jack sounded a little surprised while Dean sounded more uneasy. He really didn’t like magic of any kind. It usually ended in him getting thrown around, being strangled by sort of invisible hands, or some other form of unpleasant mojo.

“I am Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, wizard of the first order,” the old guy said. Then he turned to the woman. “And this is Cara Mason.” Turning back to Jack and Dean he added: “Welcome to our world.”

Jack noticed that the two younger people didn’t seem to feel as welcoming or as believing as the old guy, who said that he was a wizard. Jack had never met a wizard before, and he had seen a lot in his life. But he had also seen enough to know that nothing was impossible.

Since the old guy didn’t seem threatening and the younger one had lowered his sword Jack decided to lower his gun as well. 

“Captain Jack Harkness, nice to meet you all.” Then he glanced at Dean.

Dean sighed, but lowered his gun slightly. He still kept it in hand and didn’t holster it, like Jack did. These people could still be a threat to them after all, and the woman didn’t put away her sticks either. 

“Dean Winchester,” he introduced himself. Then he tried to look a little more friendly.

“You didn’t happen to see a blue box fly through the sky, with people falling out of it, did you?”

“As a matter of fact, we did,” the old man answered. “We saw you fall, which is why we came to investigate.”

Dean’s mood lightened. “And did you see which direction we came from?”

“The blue box came from over there,” Cara said, pointing at the sky. “You fell out, then it continued to fly this way, straight over us.”

“Until it suddenly disappeared,” Richard added. 

“It disappeared?” Jack asked with a frown.

“Looked like magic to me.”

Dean sighed, turned to Jack and knew that the guy thought the same thing. This so didn’t sound good.

“Any chance it just disappeared and reappeared again a few miles away?” he asked.

“We did not see it reappear,” Cara stated.

Jack shrugged. “It’s possible. But since the Doctor wasn’t in there anymore to fly it, there is no way of knowing what happened to the TARDIS.” It was even possible that the TARDIS went to a whole different reality. After all, they were flying through realities when the TARDIS started to malfunction.

Dean looked up at the sky, feeling really uneasy now. As if not being able to go back to their own reality hadn’t been bad enough. Now they might be stuck in one reality, with no way to go to other realities, and worse, not even a way off this weird planet. On top of that he didn’t know what happened to Sam, Faith or any of the others. His day really couldn’t get any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> book cover/poster art for this chapter:
> 
> picspams for this chapter:


	12. new friends and enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to have some guest stars again. But this time I'll let you read and find out, so that it is a surprise (well, until you see the icons :-))).

**LotS-Verse:**

Dean grinned as Cara told him about her world and some of the adventures she and her friends had been through. He liked to listen to her and he definitely preferred her company over the wizards. The old man was very eager to get information about anything from his and Jack’s world and their travels. Luckily Jack was the type of guy who enjoyed to hear himself talk, which had allowed Dean to fall back and start a conversation with the hot blonde. Besides that Dean felt like it was more important to get some information about the planet they were on than boast about his own ‘adventures’. As far as he could tell the planet sounded like it was stuck somewhere in the middle ages, in comparison to Earth. There was no technology, like Jack had already stated. Instead magic was used frequently. In Dean’s opinion Cara was the only good thing about this place.

Cara then started to ask him questions and as they talked time flew by. The sun started to set and Richard suggested that they make camp for the night. Dean didn’t really like the thought of stopping for the night, but walking around in the dark in an unfamiliar forest in a world he knew hardly anything about probably wasn’t the best idea.

“I am going to hunt,” Cara stated. She was soon joined by Richard and the two of them disappeared.

“Excellent,” Zedd exclaimed. “I am hungry already.” Then he turned to Jack and Dean. “Do any of you cook?”

Dean frowned. “I’m more the hunting kind of guy.” That said he pulled his gun and headed into the forest. He hunted demons, ghosts, vampires and all sorts of nasty creatures. How hard could it be to find a rabbit or something for dinner? Well, that was if there were any rabbits on this fucking planet.

After about an hour Dean started to get really frustrated. Either there were no animals in the whole forest or they knew exactly where he was and how to avoid ending up as dinner. Then the air started to smell deliciously, which meant that there actually were animals around and Cara or Richard had found them. He sighed. Admitting defeat wasn’t really in his nature, but his stomach was growling and he could hardly see anything anymore. With a sigh he walked back to the camp site, following the smell and voices he soon heard. Then he frowned as Jack’s voice became louder. Apparently the guy told another one of his fantastic stories. Did anyone actually want to hear what he had to say? The adventures were probably all made up anyway. The story then ended and roaring laughter could be heard. Dean rolled his eyes as the others came into view. Then he frowned. Jack was now leaning close to Cara, whispering something to her. And by the looks of it she seemed to enjoy his attention. Did the guy have to hit on every girl Dean liked?

\----- -----

Richard ate silently and watched as Jack and Dean seemed to compete for Cara’s attention. At first Dean had been all moody when he returned from his unsuccessful hunt. But that soon changed and he started to flirt with Cara, trying to get her attention away from Jack. Cara seemed to enjoy the attention from both of them. It wasn’t often that men treated a Mord-Sith that way. They usually feared them. Richard was happy for Cara, which was the only reason why he didn’t get involved and tried to find out if the two men were actually interested in Cara or simply tried to win her attention to triumph over each other. They seemed rather competitive and not really like friends at all. Well, they would probably leave soon anyway. They were looking for their friends and a way to return to their own world. Cara knew that and hopefully wouldn’t read too much into their advances.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Faith opened her eyes and winced. Her shoulder hurt like hell.

“How are you feeling?” someone asked. Faith blinked, until her eyes focused on the face above her. It was Martha. She started to remember waking up before. Martha had set her shoulder and apparently she blacked out.

“5 by 5,” Faith answered, then groaned as she tried to sit up.

Martha raised an eyebrow at Faith’s answer, then pushed the slayer back down. 

“Don’t move. You need to rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah, of course you are. But staying still won’t kill you, will it?” Faith glared at her and Martha smirked.

“Listen, I’m sorry,” she then started.

“For what?”

“Losing my grip and knocking you out of the TARDIS.”

“As if that was your fault. What the hell happened anyway?” The TARDIS had been fine when they went back to get Buffy and Ruby. And then it started to go crazy all of a sudden. Faith wished she had been able to catch the Doctor and Rose. The Doctor surely would have been able to get the TARDIS under control again. But she had missed him by inches. And then she hadn’t managed to close the door either. Well, at least she had been able to catch Martha and cushion her fall a little with her own body. Slayer injuries healed a lot faster than human ones after all.

“No idea. The TARDIS has done a lot of strange things, but never anything like this.” 

Faith sighed. “Any sign of the others? Or the TARDIS?”

“No. I don’t even know which way we came from.”

“We’ll find them,” Faith said. They just had to. “Unless they find us first.” The Doctor had been able to detect Buffy’s slayer power with his sonic screwdriver before. He surely could do the same now and find her. He had to be alive to do that of course, but she refused to even think about the possibility that he could be dead.

“I’m sure they will. We just need to stay here and they’ll show up. Wouldn’t want to walk off in the wrong direction,” Martha said. Of course that wasn’t the real reason she wanted to stay put. Faith had a dislocated shoulder and probably a broken rib or two. Slayer or no slayer, Martha wanted her to rest.

\----- -----

Martha sat leaning against a tree. Faith was asleep, which was a good thing. But she had to promise her that they would go and look for the others in the morning. Well, that should give the Doctor some time to find them. Hopefully he’d be here soon. Without him finding the TARDIS would be kind of pointless. No one else could fly it anyway.

Taking a deep breath Martha looked around. Judging by the vegetation they could be anywhere, a deserted place on Earth or a number of alien planets. They could even be in an alternate reality with no way home. Well, she had wanted to run as far away as possible. She probably had managed that. Shivering slightly she moved a little closer to the fire she had made and warmed her hands. 

Then a shadow suddenly fell over the light from the fire. Martha looked up surprised. She hadn’t heard anyone come. It was a blond woman dressed in dark red leather.

Martha was about to get up and greet her, when the woman spoke: “Martha Jones, how lovely to meet you.”

Martha stared at the woman. She had never seen her before. How did she know her name?

“I’ve been told a lot about you.” She grinned and Martha felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

“My name is Denna, but you can call me Mistress.” She grinned again. “And what do I want? Hm, to have a bit of fun. But what I want isn’t really important here. What you should be worried about is what _he_ wants.”

Martha stared at the woman. Somehow she had the feeling that Denna was crazy. But she was also dangerous. She could see it in her eyes.

“And who is he?”

“The Master, of course.”

Before Martha had time to fully take in that information Denna lunged forward, pulling out some kind of stick. Martha stepped aside, but Denna was quick. She was about to hit her with the stick when she was suddenly yanked away.

“Faith,” Martha breathed as the slayer started to fight the blonde. If she didn’t know that Faith was injured she wouldn’t have noticed it by the way she moved and fought.

\----- -----

The woman was a good fighter, Faith had to give her that. She would actually have enjoyed fighting her, if it hadn’t been for the ache in her shoulder and chest. But she ignored the pain. She had been injured worse and fought more dangerous creatures as well. She could still win this without breaking a sweat. At least that was what she thought until the woman hit her with her stick and immense pain rushed through her body. 

Faith groaned and jumped back. The pain stopped as soon as she was out of reach of the stick.

“You like it? It’s called agiel.”

“Nice little toy,” Faith breathed, feeling annoyed.

“I like your spirit,” Denna called as Faith charged her again. “I will enjoy breaking you.”

“Dream on.” Faith ducked, kicked, punched and tried to avoid the agiel. Then Martha threw her a wooden stick that she could use to block the agiel. 

The fight continued. Faith didn’t know for how long, but she was tiring a lot quicker than usual. Apparently her broken bones didn’t have enough time to heal, even for a slayer. She didn’t care. She had to win this fight. When she woke up the woman had said something about the Master. She probably worked for him and that wasn’t good. She remembered the look on Martha and Jack’s faces when they spoke about him. She could not let Martha fall into his hands, no matter what!

Faith had just started to get the upper hand when she heard a yelp and then a thudding noise. Turning around she saw Martha on the ground, the Master towering over her with a mad grin. Then the agiel hit her in her broken shoulder. Faith doubled over in pain and fell to her knees, but the pain didn’t stop, until she blacked out.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Dean woke up startled, taking a deep breath. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Well, they were stranded on a strange planet without technology and the TARDIS was probably in another reality. Of course something was wrong. But it was more than that. He could feel it in his gut. Sam? Was it him? Had something happened to his brother… again? No, somehow he didn’t think so. Not that he knew what happened to Sam, but that uneasy feeling came from somewhere else. Faith; yes, it was her. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he was sure that something was wrong with her.

“You alright?” Cara asked. She was taking watch as everyone else got some rest. 

“Fine,” he said, but the feeling that something was terribly wrong didn’t go away.

Taking a sip of water Dean tried to calm himself down. Maybe it was just a dream. Or he was getting paranoid. His gaze fell on Jack and he wondered if he should wake the guy and tell him that they had to start searching for Faith. Then he frowned. Jack would probably think that he was crazy. And he might be right. It was the middle of the night and he wanted to get up and run around in the dark on a planet he didn’t know and look for Faith who probably was fine. Well, she did fall out of the TARDIS. She could have been injured. But he knew that before. Why was he feeling all freaked out now?

Without another thought Dean grabbed Jack’s foot and shook the guy slightly.

“Wake up, we need to go.”

Jack woke up startled and looked around. It was still dark.

“What’s going on?”

“I have no idea,” Cara stated. 

“Something is wrong. We need to go. Now!” 

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know. It… it’s just a feeling, okay. But we have to go now. It’s Faith! You do still remember Faith, right?”

Jack raised an eyebrow, but got up without another word. Maybe he wasn’t willing to take any chances when it came to Faith either.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Aydindril:**

The Doctor sat on a bench in the Confessor’s palace garden. The sun was just about to rise. Kahlan Amnell had invited them to rest in her palace and promised to help them search for their friends the next day. A storm had started to build anyway, so he decided to accept her offer. Besides that he had a feeling that he could trust Kahlan. And having help from someone who knew their way around this world would be good.

“Good morning,” a voice said and the Doctor looked up. It was Kahlan, dressed in completely different clothes than the day before. Yesterday she had looked like some sort of royalty, and if he understood it right she was a keeper of justice in this world. She reigned over the entire city and made the laws of the state they were in. But today she looked different, more like a normal civilian… well, an armed civilian. 

“Good morning,” the Doctor answered.

“I am ready to leave as soon as you are.”

“You are coming with us yourself?” the Doctor asked surprised. He had expected her to send some of her people with them.

“Yes, I will accompany you to make sure that you will be able to return to your world safely,” she answered. The Doctor and Rose had told her that they came from a different world and were trying to find their friends and return home with the blue box she had seen fly over the city the day before. Kahlan felt intrigued by their story. She wanted to find out more about these people and help them. But that wasn’t the only reason why she wanted to accompany them herself. The blue box had flown in the direction of D’Hara, where Zedd, Cara and Richard were heading right now. She was only back in Aydindril for a few days, but she already missed Richard deeply. She didn’t want to stay away from him any longer. And besides, her sister had everything under control in Aydindril. She wasn’t needed here. So why stay, when she so desperately wanted to leave?

Pushing away her thoughts, Kahlan tried to focus on the Doctor, who looked at her curiously.

“You seem surprised that I am coming with you.”

“Yes. Where I come from the leaders of people usually don’t accompany strangers on journeys. They send someone else.”

“There is no one I could send who knows the midlands better than I do. And besides, I am starting to get bored here,” she admitted. 

The Doctor smirked. He had the feeling that Kahlan actually liked to travel and was an adventurous person. Accompanying him and Rose probably was the perfect opportunity for her to leave this city and her duties behind. He liked her more and more. 

“Well, we can’t have that. And we’d be honoured to travel with you.” He grinned at her.

Kahlan smiled.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**TARDIS library:**

“Buffy told me that you helped her in that alternate reality,” Willow said while sitting down next to Ruby at a table.

Ruby glanced at the redheaded witch. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well… you’re a demon.”

Ruby frowned. She felt like she had to repeat over and over again that she was different. And no matter how often she said it or how often she helped or even saved someone they never believed her anyway. Why was she even bothering to try and convince these people that she was on their side? Right, because she wanted to kill every last existing demon and get revenge for what had been done to her. And she knew that she wouldn’t be able to do that on her own. She needed allies.

“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m on your side.”

“But why?”

Ruby looked at Willow and thought for a moment. It seemed to her that Willow actually wanted to know and might believe her.

“Revenge.”

Revenge, Willow thought. Well, that made sense. Human-possessing demons weren’t like vampires. Vampires could under certain circumstances have a soul. But that was out of the question for human-possessing demons. They didn’t have souls, which was why Willow had not been able to come up with any reason why Ruby could be on their side. It just didn’t make sense that she was on the side of good. But revenge was a powerful motivator. If Ruby wanted revenge on evil creatures she might actually be a trustworthy ally; at least until she had accomplished her goals and gotten her revenge.

“For what?” Willow asked. She didn’t really expect Ruby to tell her that, but had to try. The more she knew about the demon the better she could judge how far Ruby could be trusted.

This was the point where Ruby usually would just have disappeared. She didn’t tell people about herself. Why should she? She didn’t like to talk about her past as a human or her time in hell. And apart from that, no one believed her anyway. Sam and Dean never had. They only trusted her as far as they could throw her. But where was she supposed to go now? Yes, the TARDIS was a big ship, but it wasn’t like she could just run off now, like she used to. She was stuck on this ship with these people. However, even more important than that was her wish to finally find someone that believed her. Maybe Willow could be that someone? She had bothered to talk to her after all. And she was a witch.

“I used to be like you. When I was human… I used to be a witch.”

Willow stared at Ruby surprised, but didn’t say anything, hoping that Ruby would continue.

“But my magic was different. It was borrowed from a demon. I didn’t know that, but by using the magic I sold my soul to the demon and eventually went to hell for it. They screwed me and I’m never going to forget or forgive that.” It wasn’t the whole story, but it was as much as Ruby was willing to share for now.

Willow didn’t know what to say. She knew what it was like to use dark magic and what the consequences could be. She was sure that she had been on the way to hell as well. Her own story might have been different from Ruby’s, but she still felt for her. And maybe she could help her somehow. She had had help after all. If it wasn’t for her friends she would never have been able to come back from the dark side. Maybe she could now return the favour and help someone else. She would try at least.

“I’m sorry,” she said and placed a hand on Ruby’s arm.

Ruby looked at Willow surprised. She had not expected a reaction like that. Yes, she had hoped that Willow would believe her, but she hadn’t expected it to actually happen.

“If you want revenge on demons or other nasty creatures you can count on my help,” Willow then added with a small awkward smile.

Ruby couldn’t help but return the smile, then the TARDIS suddenly started to shake and spin out of control.

\----- -----

“What the hell was that?” Ruby called, feeling annoyed as she surfaced in the pool.

Willow appeared next to her. “I have no idea. But whatever it was has to be bad.”

Ruby frowned, disappeared and reappeared outside the pool, dripping of water. “Of course we had to end up in the damn pool. Who had the stupid idea to put a pool in a library anyway?”

Willow smirked, then a loud bang could be heard and smoke erupted, entering the library through the open door.

“Crap,” Willow muttered. “Let’s go check this out.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**AU Whoverse:**

“You finally going to tell me why you are wearing these clothes?” the Doctor asked glancing from Amy in her police woman outfit to Rory in his roman clothes. 

“Nope,” Amy stated and rushed towards her house. Rory quickly followed her, saying nothing.

“Oh come on,” the Doctor called catching up with them. “You can tell me.”

Amy turned to him, glaring slightly. “How about some fish custard?” she then asked, trying to change the subject.

“I love fish custard! We haven’t had fish custard in…” he didn’t get to finish the sentence as a loud crash made him twirl around.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Amy exclaimed and stepped next to him. The Doctor just blinked, staring at the scene in front of him.

“But the TARDIS is right over there,” Rory muttered, pointing to his right.

“Yes, it is,” the Doctor stated.

“But how can it be there… and crash here as well?”

“It has to be from the future, doesn’t it?” Amy asked.

“And that’s bad… really bad,” the Doctor muttered.

“Why?” Rory wanted to know.

“Crossing timelines… you should never cross your own timeline. Well, not until it is absolutely necessary.”

Amy stepped closer and then frowned. “Well, there went that garden shed… do you always have to crash into my garden shed?”

“Sorry…,” the Doctor started, but didn’t get to finish the sentence as the TARDIS door opened.

Amy looked at it, half expecting a raggedy Doctor to climb out of it, asking for an apple. But instead a redheaded woman appeared. And she did not climb out of the lying TARDIS… she flew! Then a blonde followed. They floated out of the ship and landed next to it, dripping water onto the ground.

Amy stared at them, then turned to the Doctor and Rory, whose mouth was wide open. She smirked slightly at her husband’s expression, but understood how he felt. She might have expected a lot, but not this! Neither had the Doctor apparently, as his expression showed bewilderment as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **poster/book cover for this chapter:**
> 
> **picspam for this chapter:**


	13. Geronimo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AU Whoverse:**

Ruby watched as Willow’s dripping clothes suddenly dried, her hair and the rest of her body doing the same. Then the witch started to look around.

“What about me?” Ruby asked frowning.

“Oh, sorry,” Willow muttered, turned to Ruby and with a flex of her hand Ruby turned from soaking wet to dry and comfortable.

“Now that that’s sorted… What the hell happened? Where are we? And more importantly, where are the others?” Ruby asked, looking to the witch for the answers she sought.

“Hello,” a voice suddenly said, startling the two women. Ruby and Willow turned and noticed for the first time that they weren’t alone. A man was standing a few feet away, a grin on his face as he waved at them. Behind him was another man, dressed in a roman outfit, and a police woman. Willow really hoped that the police outfit was just the costume it appeared to be. It was bad enough that they had witnesses to their crash and her using magic – why had she been careless enough to use magic in public without first looking around anyway? Right, the TARDIS had crashed and no one had been in the control room, that could rattle anyone! But all that happening with police around would be even worse.

“Do you need help? Is someone injured?” Rory asked, stepping forward and looking at the two women who were standing in front of a lying TARDIS that was emitting smoke. Yes, he was a little startled by the whole flying and drying thing… that so did look like magic to him! But he had seen a lot of crazy stuff in his life already and wasn’t going to let anything distract him from the more important things, like making sure everyone was alright.

“They look fine to me, unlike my garden shed. What is it with TARDIS’s crashing into my garden shed anyway?” Amy asked rolling her eyes while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Amy,” Rory butted in, giving her a reprehensive look.

“What? It can’t be that hard to crash a few feet over there, can it?” she asked gesturing to her left.

That so wasn’t the reaction Willow had expected… shock, fear, maybe even screaming, but not this.

“Who are you people?” Ruby asked, glaring slightly at them.

Willow shot a look at Ruby and was about to tell her that being nice wouldn’t hurt when the guy who had spoken first said:

“Oh sorry, just ignore them,” he gestured at the other two. “You seem to be in a bit of trouble and I’m guessing you need a Doctor. Well, you’re lucky… here I am.”

Willow turned to the guy and looked him up and down, a little startled.

“Actually we are looking for a Doctor, but a rather specific one, and some more of our friends. They were in the control room when - well, I have no idea what happened - but we crashed - sorry about the shed by the way,” Willow babbled, glancing at the other redhead. “Ruby and I were in the library and when we got to the control room it was empty.” She stopped, wondering why she was telling all that to the strangers. They probably had no idea what she was talking about; but on the other hand, the redhead had talked about TARDIS’s, as if she knew exactly what the ship was.

“Er… you didn’t see anyone else coming out of the TARDIS, did you?” she then asked, deciding to concentrate on what was most important for now.

“No,” the Doctor said. “You were the only ones. And I have no idea what happened either, but why don’t we go find out?” He strode forward purposefully, intending to check out the TARDIS.

“Woah, hold it right there,” Ruby objected. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Having a look at your TARDIS of course.”

“No, you’re not! We don’t even know who you are. You’re not touching… How do you even know what the TARDIS is?” Ruby asked raising an eyebrow.

“Got one of my own,” the Doctor said, gesturing at his TARDIS, which was standing a few feet away, slightly hidden behind a tree. “And I am the Doctor by the way. Yeah, I know, I look different…” These people obviously were travelling with a future version of himself, seeing as they hadn’t recognized him. “Have I told you about regeneration yet? Obviously not, judging by your blank looks. You see, Time Lords have this little trick…”

“He can change his face… or better, whole body,” Amy interrupted. If she left it to him to explain they would no doubt be standing here for hours, listening to his ramblings. “He’s the Doctor, trust me.”

“Why would we trust you?” Ruby asked at the same time as Willow said: “Change his looks? How… and why?”

“To cheat death… but that’s not what is important right now. The TARDIS looks bad from what I can tell. I should really….” He stopped as a loud gong came from inside the ship.

“No no no,” he muttered rushing past the two strangers. “Amy, Rory, stay here, I’ve got to…”

“Oh no, we’re coming. I’m not going to let you disappear for another twelve years!” Amy called, grabbed Rory’s arm and dragged him with her.

The Doctor sighed. “Fine… no time for arguing, the TARDIS is about to explode.”

“Hold it…” Ruby started, but Willow put a hand on her arm. “Let them go. We need help and maybe they can do that. They do know a lot. And what if he really is the Doctor?”

“I think it’s more likely that they are the reason we crashed,” Ruby replied.

Willow frowned. She hadn’t thought about it like that. “Then we’ll just have to keep an eye on them,” she decided and rushed after the strangers. The guy who claimed to be the Doctor was just climbing onto the TARDIS, ready to jump in.

“Alright, let’s do this. GERONIMOOOOO!” With that scream he jumped. The woman, Amy, was next. Her scream could soon be heard as well.

\----- -----

“I hate this pool,” Ruby muttered, surfacing in it for the second time. Willow smirked at her.

“Would you rather have ended up on solid ground?” the Doctor asked while climbing out of the pool.

“We could have floated in,” Ruby muttered. “The same way we got out of the ship.”

Willow ignored her as she climbed out of the pool as well. “How can we be standing normally?” she then asked. After the TARDIS crashed everything had been slightly off. The walls were the ground. And now they just jumped in and fell through the control room, a corridor, and all the way down into the library and the pool.

The Doctor held up the sonic screwdriver. “Fixed the gravity on my way in.”

Another gong was then heard.

“Hurry up Ponds, we’re on a tight schedule here,” the Doctor called. “And you two… what are your names anyway?”

“I’m Willow, and this is Ruby.”

“Nice to meet you, Willow, Ruby… run,” he called as he started running while the gong sounded a third time.

\----- -----

“So, it’s all fixed now?” Willow asked about half an hour later, as they all stood in the control room. The Doctor had taken them on a short trip to the future to stabilize the engines, then he started fixing things. In addition to that the TARDIS apparently fixed certain things herself as well. While they had been off somewhere in the ship the whole control room had changed. Willow looked around in amazement at the now reddish décor. She had loved the look of the control room before, but this was almost even more beautiful.

“Looks just like our TARDIS now,” Amy said.

“Except for all the seats,” Rory added. There were more seats scattered around this control room.

“More seats for more people,” the Doctor muttered silently. “The TARDIS knows what is needed.” Willow had said that they were looking for friends, and with all the new seats it looked like there were a lot of people travelling in this TARDIS.

“Yes, it’s all fixed and brand new,” the Doctor stated. “But there’s something I don’t get.”

Willow and Ruby both turned to him. “What?”

“The TARDIS… they way it looked. It looked like that before… well, actually right before I regenerated the last time.”

“So?” Ruby asked.

“The TARDIS never looks the same twice. Once it changes it doesn’t go back.” They all looked at him, apparently waiting for him to make a point. He turned to Amy.

“My TARDIS changed the day I met you, which means it couldn’t have changed in the same or a similar way now. Plus…” he twirled around, facing Willow and Ruby. “…if you travelled in the TARDIS, looking the way it did, that would mean you travel with a past regeneration of me, but I don’t recognize you.”

“What does that mean?” Rory asked.

“Something changed… right, Doctor? Time can be rewritten,” Amy stated. “And it was, wasn’t it?” She sounded a little scared. This didn’t sound good. Of course time had been rewritten before. In fact the Doctor had done it just a few hours ago to save them from dying on an alien ship on their honeymoon. But this time… this change would involve her personally. If the change involved her first meeting with the Doctor, what would that mean for her?

“Not necessarily,” Willow butted in. “We’re probably not from this reality. You see, we were kind of travelling between realities when this happened. We…” she gestured at Ruby and herself. “… came through a portal from another reality and the Doctor was trying to get us home. So we might not actually be travelling with you.”

The Doctor stared at her, frowning.

“Travelling through realities? But that’s not possible. It could destroy universes! I wouldn’t do that, no matter which version of me.”

“But you did, or he did. We’ve been to several realities already,” Ruby stated.

“And nothing happened,” Willow added. “Not until today anyway. Do you think that’s why we crashed, because we shouldn’t have travelled through realities?”

The Doctor frowned again and stepped to the console. “How about we find out.” None of this made much sense so far. It was time for him to figure out what actually happened to this TARDIS.

\----- -----

“So, find anything?” Amy asked after a while. She was sitting in one of the comfy new chairs close to the console, her head resting on Rory’s shoulder, as she waited for the Doctor to finish checking out this TARDIS and its readings.

“Fascinating…,” the Doctor muttered, then he turned to Amy.

“Yeah, a lot actually. This TARDIS really can travel through realities. Not that mine can’t of course, but this one can do it safely, without endangering universes.”

“But what caused the crash then?” Willow wanted to know.

“And why are we the only ones left? Where is everyone else?” Ruby asked. She was in this whole mess because she followed Sam. She had wanted to keep him safe and make sure that he returned home in one piece. He was her strongest ally, she couldn’t lose him now.

“Well,” the Doctor started, turning to Ruby. “I think they might have fallen out of the TARDIS.”

“They what?”

“… fell out of the TARDIS when it started to lose control, which by the way happened because it flew into a trap.”

“A trap?”

“I’m afraid so, and whoever laid that trap knew exactly what he was doing. It’s quite brilliant actually…”

“I don’t care how brilliant it is. Who set the trap?” Ruby demanded to know.

“I have no idea,” the Doctor stated. “Is there someone brilliant after you? And I mean really brilliant.”

Ruby and Willow frowned, glanced at each other and shrugged. But then Ruby turned back to the Doctor.

“There was someone after Eric, a whole bunch of vampires. They almost killed him, Buffy and me.”

“Vampires?” Amy asked. “Not real vampires though, right? Just aliens pretending to be vampires, like we met… right, Doctor?”

“They were real vampires, trust me,… different from the ones back home, but still vampires,” Ruby stated.

“But they knew nothing about the TARDIS,” Willow said, ignoring Amy and Rory’s mutterings about vampires. “I mean, the ones who attacked you are dead and no one else even saw the TARDIS.”

“Right.” Ruby nodded. “What about that girl we picked up? The Doctor’s friend.”

“Rose? You think she could have set the trap?”

“Rose?” the Doctor asked, feeling a little startled. “She’s travelling with you?”

“We just picked her up in another reality.”

The Doctor stared at them, stunned. Then he pushed away his feelings. Now was not the time to contemplate that this TARDIS could fly through realities, that with it he could go and see his Rose again. Not that it mattered, Rose was with the other Doctor now. She didn’t need him anymore.

“Rose wouldn’t sabotage the TARDIS. She wouldn’t want to or know how.”

“What about the guy that attacked her? That Master, do you know him?” Willow asked.

The Doctor froze. “The Master? He’s alive?”

“Who’s the Master?” Amy and Rory both asked at the same time.

“A Time Lord. And this trap definitely looks like something the Master would do. You’re going to have to be careful, real careful.”

“Great, thanks for the warning, but we don’t even know how to fly this ship or find the others,” Ruby said.

“She’s right. We can’t worry about the Master right now. We need to find our friends,” Willow added, facing the Doctor. “Can you help us? They could be anywhere after all, even in another reality.” She could do a locator spell, but that wouldn’t do them any good if Buffy and the others fell out in another reality. They needed help, and the Doctor was the only person she could think of that might be able to help them.

“You should worry about the Master. He’s dangerous, and it looks like he has a plan. But we can figure that out later. For now we’re just going to fly back the way you came and see who we can pick up on the way,” he stated, a grin appearing on his face.

“So you’ll help us?” Willow said, a smile appearing on her face.

“Of course I will; can’t just let you be stranded here.” He then turned to Amy and Rory. “You better get home now. Keep an eye on my TARDIS while I’m gone.”

“Not a chance! You’re going to fly to other realities and face some dangerous master guy. I’m not leaving your side.”

“Neither will I,” Rory added. He looked a little less thrilled than Amy, but he definitely wouldn’t leave his wife and the Doctor while they travelled to another reality!

“Alright, now that that’s settled...” The Doctor pulled a handle and the TARDIS shook slightly. “…off we go.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**TARDIS (back when it was spinning out of control):**

Buffy watched in horror as people started to fall out of the TARDIS. First the Doctor and Rose, then Faith and Martha. Jack and Dean had tried to get to them, but were too late and then they too lost their grip and hurled out of the TARDIS. Buffy was trying to think of something to do while ignoring the screams and came to the conclusion that she needed to close the doors. She let go of the column she was hanging on to and threw herself over to the console. She had no idea how to close the doors - there were hundreds of buttons, handles and other things - but she had to try. Clinging to the console she started pressing buttons. Then Buffy saw that Dawn lost her grip. Sam grabbed her with one hand while holding onto a column with the other, but their combined weight was too much and he lost his grip as well. They hurled towards the door together.

“No!” Buffy screamed and in a reflex let go of the console, pushing herself away. She had to get to Dawn. She couldn’t lose her sister and there was nothing she could do for her from inside the ship. Maybe she could somehow grab Dawn and at least cushion her fall or something.

As Buffy got sucked out the door she saw Dawn and Sam a few feet away, falling. The next second they were gone. She was all alone in the air, falling, and she seemed a lot higher up than just seconds before. The lights of a city could be seen in the distance, far below her.  
Buffy’s eyes widened as she realized that this was going to be it. She was going to die – again – but this time she wouldn’t be able to save anyone in the process. She jumped out of a spaceship for nothing.

A moment later arms wrapped around Buffy, pulling her close. She blinked and came face to face with Eric who was holding her.

“I’ve got you,” he said as their fall seemed to slow down.

“What the…?” Buffy mumbled, then they came to a halt in midair. That was when Buffy remembered that Eric could fly, which really did come in handy in that moment.

Eric then glanced around, probably looking for the others.

“They just disappeared,” Buffy said. “Or maybe we did.” Everything had changed. She had not been quick enough in falling out of the TARDIS. The ship had probably disappeared and reappeared somewhere else and taken Buffy with her just before she was completely out of the ship. It was the only explanation she had.

“Then we should get back to the ship,” Eric stated and started to fly towards the tumbling blue box in the distance. However, they didn’t make it. The TARDIS disappeared in front of their eyes, leaving only the dark night sky behind.

“Crap,” Buffy muttered and groaned. Of course that had to happen. It wasn’t like she could fly the TARDIS, but without the ship she had no clue how to find the others at all.

\----- -----

Buffy’s thoughts were spinning when they finally landed on a street. How was she going to find Dawn and the others? There had to be a way, she just needed to find it. Willow would know, but her friend wasn’t here.

“Willow,” she breathed. “She’s still in the TARDIS, and so is Ruby. They’ll figure this out.”

“They can get the ship back under control and fly it?” Eric asked, slightly sceptical. Until that point he had only seen the Doctor using the machine.

“Er…,” Buffy stammered. “Willow’s a witch. She will figure something out.” She just had to. It was their only chance. With the TARDIS they could get back to before the others fell out, couldn’t they? It was a time machine after all. They could catch them before they hit the ground.

Eric looked at Buffy and simply nodded. He had no idea if Willow would actually be able to do anything about the TARDIS, or if Buffy was just clinging to hope.

“We should try to find shelter while we’re here,” he then said. It was night right now, but he had no idea what time it was. He had to find a safe place before dawn.

Buffy glanced at him and then nodded. Eric was a vampire, he would eventually need a place to spend the day, in case the TARDIS wasn’t back in time. She then started to look around properly.

“Wait a second, I know this place.”

Eric turned to Buffy and stared at her. “You know where we are?”

“Cleveland. I think I’m home, or I might be at least.” This could be one of many realities after all. The odds that it was the right one were rather slim, but one could hope, right? If they were actually home Buffy knew where to get help; and if they were in an alternate reality, maybe she could still find help. Alternate versions of her friends might be here, maybe even a Willow.

“Come on, let’s go… This way.”

\----- -----

“So, you just jumped out of the TARDIS after me?” Buffy asked glancing up at Eric as they headed towards the Slayer School.

“Of course,” Eric simply stated. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Buffy. It was unthinkable.

Buffy stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to say something else, but he didn’t. She frowned slightly, not sure what to think. Eric was a bit of a mystery to her. She still wasn’t entirely sure why he had decided to come with her. And she knew so little about his kind of vampires. They did seem to have souls, but they weren’t like humans. The vampire war she had witnessed had shown that. On the other hand, humans did fight wars as well. Did that mean, that vampires like Eric weren’t that much different from humans? Was it possible that he genuinely cared about her? They only just met… but it had been a rather intense meeting. They had saved each others lives and fought together. Maybe that was enough for him to care about her.

“You could have died,” she then pointed out.

“So could you, and besides, _I_ can fly.”

“Yeah, but it could have been day.”

Eric stared at her. “It was night when we left and not much time has passed.”

“We’re travelling in a time machine, Eric. Or we were,” she reminded him. “It was morning for me when I stepped out of the TARDIS in your world, but it was night outside.”

Eric frowned at that. He hadn’t considered the implications of time travel. He would have to be careful when he stepped out of the TARDIS in the future, if there was a future that involved travelling in the TARDIS.

“So you had Tequila for breakfast?” he then asked with a smirk.

Buffy groaned. He just had to remember that.

“It was an annoying morning, all right?”

“What happened?”

“None of your business.” She so wasn’t going to tell him that she hated the thought of her sister making out with Sam, or anyone for that matter. It was a little pathetic, wasn’t it? Dawn wasn’t a child anymore, even if it still felt like she was. And she wasn’t going to mention that she had still been pissed at the Spike-look alike from the bar the evening before. That he reminded her of Spike and how much she missed him wasn’t something Buffy wanted to talk about either.

“Alright, the TARDIS just disappeared on us without an explanation, and I was left behind with Ruby. She annoys the hell out of me on the best of days,” she then said when Eric still looked at her as if he expected an explanation.

“I thought she was your friend.”

Buffy snorted. “She’s a demon.”

“So?”

“I don’t know about demons from your world, but where I’m from demons are NOT trustworthy.”

“Then why are you travelling with her?” Buffy’s thought processes appeared to baffle him

“That’s what I’d like to know. She just sort of came along… uninvited!”

Buffy then stopped. They had reached the Slayer School. The building loomed behind a familiar gate, looking just the way she remembered it. She never would have thought that she’d miss the place so much. It really had become her home, and with a bit of luck she was home now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **poster/book cover for this chapter:**
> 
> **picspam:**


	14. home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Slayer School:**

They had no problem getting into the school. Buffy’s security code worked and Eric had no trouble getting past the magical wards. Buffy guessed that that said something about his intentions and character. At the very least he couldn’t be evil. She was also excited. Since her code worked this probably was the right reality.

“I guess you’re home,” Eric stated.

Buffy grinned up at him, feeling more optimistic now. Then she froze as someone walked around the corner. Her eyes fixed on the tall dark haired guy, taking in every feature. Her heart started to beat faster. In that moment she didn’t even care that this obviously wasn’t her reality.

“Angel,” she breathed.

He stared back at her, his eyes widening.

“Buffy?”

Buffy smiled happily and without another thought moved forward, wrapped her arms around Angel and kissed him. She had missed him so much, even more than Spike. And now he was here, holding her, kissing her. Deep down she knew that this wasn’t the Angel she knew - he was dead - but in this moment that didn’t really matter.

Eric stared at the scene in front of him, a frown on his face. Apparently Buffy really was home, and she had a boyfriend! Why had she never mentioned that? Not that it mattered much. He would have still gone with her and worked on winning her over, but it would have been nice to know. Finding out like this really wasn’t fun. He growled and tried to push away the urge to grab the dark haired guy and rip him apart. Then he noticed that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t seem to like the sight. Faith was standing a few feet away not looking too happy. Eric raised an eyebrow at her. He thought she had fallen out of the TARDIS in another reality.

When they finally pulled apart Buffy was breathing heavily and glanced up at Angel. He was looking at her with an odd expression, a mix of happiness and confusion.

“How?” he asked silently. “You… died.” He let go of her, looking uncertain all of a sudden.

Buffy looked at him a little surprised. So she was dead in this reality. How? Had she not come back from heaven? Well she could ask that later. By the look on Angel’s face she could tell that he was starting to wonder if it was actually her or maybe some kind of shape-shifter.

“Alternate reality,” she said. “And I am Buffy… just not the one you knew.”

Angel looked at her a little uncertain. He was about to say something, when they heard a noise. They broke apart slightly and looked around.

“Faith,” Angel called. The other slayer was walking off rather quickly. “Wait.” That said Angel left Buffy’s side and hurried after Faith.

\----- -----

“Not your reality then?” Eric asked, but it was more a statement than a question.

“No,” Buffy answered silently, but didn’t look at Eric. Her eyes were fixed on Angel and Faith. Angel was apologizing to her and telling her that he loved her. A frown appeared on Buffy’s face. Angel and Faith? She so didn’t like the thought of that. Yes, this was an alternate reality. Things could be different. And she was dead in this reality. Angel was allowed to move on and be happy. But with Faith? Why did Faith always get the great guys lately? And why Angel of all people? Faith had tried to get between her and Angel in the past. Now it felt like she had succeeded. Of course that was a silly thought. Buffy didn’t even know if this Faith had done the same things the Faith from her reality did. But still, it stung.

“We should leave,” Buffy said. She didn’t want to stay a second longer than she had to.

“We can’t.”

Buffy turned and glared up at Eric. “What?”

“We… I can’t leave. It will be dawn soon.” He could feel it. He had maybe an hour left at most. That wasn’t enough time to find another safe place.

Buffy frowned, feeling frustrated. She felt like telling Eric that they would just have to find another place to spend the day, but she knew that that would be silly. The Slayer School was the safest place she knew. That fact didn’t change just because they were in another reality. She couldn’t risk Eric’s life because she was jealous of Faith. She might not really like Eric, or the attraction she felt towards him, but that didn’t mean that she would put him in danger, far from it actually, she thought, remembering that she even let him drink her blood when he was dying. Maybe she did like him after all?

“Fine. We’re staying... if they let us.” It was possible after all, that this realities’ versions of her friends wouldn’t believe her that she was Buffy from another reality and meant them no harm. Buffy sighed. All these different realities were winding her round the bend!

\----- -----

**Next day:**

They did let them stay. They were a little wary at first, but after this realities Willow had performed a few spells she had declared that Buffy was indeed human, or well, a slayer. Buffy was glad that they believed her and it was kind of good to see some of her friends again, like Xander, Giles, and especially Anya. She never knew how much she actually liked the ex-demon until she died. On the other hand seeing so many people she cared about and missed made her feel rather sad as well, since they were not actually her friends; they were just slightly different. But none of them seemed to notice her unease. They were all thrilled to see her and wanted to talk to her. Before long Buffy felt exhausted and she was actually starting to look forward to night time, when Eric would wake up. He was sleeping in a room across the hall. Buffy had gotten some sleep as well, but not much. She was too on edge and worried about Dawn, Willow and the others.

\----- -----

After waking up Eric went to look for Buffy. He didn’t have to look far. Apparently she had kept her promise to stay close and make sure no one would harm him, not that she thought he was in danger, but she had promised anyway. He was glad about it. Sleeping in a building full of vampire slayers who didn’t know him had made him a little uneasy, but he didn’t have a choice. Unlike the vampires from this world he couldn’t stay up during the day. As soon as the sun was up he was dead to the world.

Buffy was surrounded by people, who all chatted happily, but she didn’t really seem to be as happy as they were. Yes, she smiled at them, but the smiles didn’t reach her eyes. Then she turned and her eyes met his. The first real smile appeared on her face, lighting it up in a beautiful way. Eric smiled back, happy that he was the reason for her smile, not Angel.

Buffy excused herself and came over to him.

“Thank god, I thought you decided to sleep through the night as well,” she said teasingly, but she also sounded a little relieved.

“Sounds like you missed me,” he replied in a bit of a cocky voice while at the same time feeling hopeful.

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s just good to see someone who isn’t thrilled to see me alive.”

“As a matter of fact I am quite happy to see you alive,” he answered with a slightly amused smile.

Buffy smirked. “You know what I mean.” She then sighed. “It’s just weird. Seeing all these people, my friends, and yet they aren’t really my friends.” And then there was Angel. As glad as she was to see him alive, or rather undead, she just couldn’t help but dread his company as well, especially if Faith was there, too.

“Want to get out of here?”

“Yes, please.”

“So, you’re that vampire,” a voice then said and Buffy saw Anya showing up next to them. “I heard that Buffy got herself another vampire with a soul.”

Buffy groaned. “I didn’t get…”

“I can see why you like him. He is very physically appealing,” Anya added turning to Buffy.

Buffy scowled at her. Why had she thought she missed her again?

Eric just smirked in a rather self-satisfied way. Buffy rolled her eyes. Then a draft suddenly appeared out of nowhere and a rather familiar noise followed. Buffy grinned, feeling more relieved than she thought possible. A second later the TARDIS materialized a few feet away.

\----- -----

“I guess Buffy was right, you did manage to find a way to come and get us,” Eric said as he looked at the redheaded witch standing next to him. He had always disliked witches, particularly after the incident with Hallow, but this one did seem to be rather useful.

“Well, we found help,” Willow said and gestured to the TARDIS through which Eric could see a guy rushing around the brand new console.

“He really is the Doctor?” Eric asked. Willow and Ruby had told them about the Doctor they found in another reality, but this one looked so different. It was hard to imagine that he really was supposed to be the same man.

“I guess so. He tends to babble a lot of nonsense, just like the Doctor, and he can fly the TARDIS,” Willow stated. She still wasn’t entirely sure if she should trust him, even though she did feel like she believed him. But Ruby was rather suspicious anyway and didn’t let the guy out of her sight.

“That’s good enough for me, until we find the right Doctor,” Eric said. As long as he didn’t have to stay in this reality, with Angel, he was happy, he thought, as his gaze fell on him and Buffy, who were saying goodbye a few feet away. Who knew if Angel might have realized soon that he preferred an alternate Buffy over Faith after all.

\----- -----

“I guess this is it,” Angel said. “I was actually hoping you’d stay longer.”

“I thought you’re happy with Faith.”

“I am; but I still miss you, you know.”

Buffy sighed and looked down. “I know, I miss you, too.” And she probably always would. But this wasn’t her world. She couldn’t just stay here and be with this version of Angel. He had Faith, and she needed to find Dawn and the others.

“Just make sure Faith doesn’t make you too happy,” she then said.

Angel frowned slightly, but then realization showed on his face as he understood what she meant.

“I have a permanent soul now.”

“You what? I mean… seriously?”

“Yes. It was actually Faith who found a way. She was really determined and eventually turned up with a spell that Willow performed.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. Faith had found a way to be able to really be with Angel. Why had she not been able to do the same? Maybe things would have been different if she had. Angel might still be alive… he was in this world after all.

“If you wait a second I’ll tell Willow to get the spell for you. You never know who gets turned into a vampire and needs to have a soul restored.”

“Yeah, I’ll wait,” Buffy said and watched as Angel left. She felt strange all of a sudden. There she was, waiting to get a spell that would have made it possible for her to be with Angel. Only it was too late. Angel was dead.

\----- -----

Once Buffy was back in the TARDIS Willow went over to her.

“So, how was it to see Angel again?”

Buffy glanced at her friend and sighed.

“Weird. It wasn’t really him though. I mean, he was different. He’s with Faith!”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, but then sighed once more. “Well, I’m dead in that reality, so I can’t really blame him for moving on.”

“You can do whatever you want, and I am ready to blame him with you, if you want me to,” Willow said, a resolved look on her face.

Buffy smirked. It was really good to have _her_ Willow back.

“But you know, maybe you should think about moving on, too. I mean, not that you haven’t of course. You did date after Angel…”

Buffy frowned. Yes, she had dated after Angel left. There were Riley, Spike and a few others afterwards, but if she was honest she never had moved on completely. As soon as she saw Angel again she had always been drawn to him once more. And that hadn’t changed. She even ran up to an alternate version of him last night and kissed him! It was kind of pathetic, wasn’t it?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“You’re right,” Buffy said, interrupting Willow.

“I am? Yes… yes, of course I am. You should move on, and you know, you might have the perfect opportunity here…”

Buffy stared at her, then Willow nodded over to where Eric was standing next to Ruby.

“He can barely keep his eyes off of you.”

Buffy groaned. “He’s a vampire,” she stated as if that was all that mattered.

“That never stopped you before,” Willow objected, not seeing the point.

“Exactly, and look where it got me.” Buffy sighed, not feeling too happy.

“Not every vampire loses his soul when he’s happy, Buffy. And not everyone dies on you. Usually vampires actually do live pretty long.”

Buffy’s frown deepened. “Are you trying to tell me to date a vampire?” She could hardly imagine that Willow actually thought this was a good idea.

Willow shrugged. “He is pretty hot.”

“That’s what Anya said,” Buffy stated groaning.

“Anya was alive in that reality?”

Buffy nodded. “And as annoying as ever.”

“Well, she does have a point,” Willow said with a slight smirk while trying to stir the conversation back on track.

Buffy sighed and glanced over to Eric again, who was giving her a cheeky grin, apparently aware that they were talking about him.

“And I know you like him,” Willow added. “I saw the way you looked at him when he wasn’t doing so well; and you let him drink your blood!” Buffy had only done that once before, when Angel was dying. It hadn’t ended well either. Angel almost killed her and she ended up in the hospital. That Buffy even considered letting another vampire drink her blood spoke volumes in Willow’s opinion. And then there was the way Buffy tended to look at Eric. She probably didn’t even realize it, but to Willow it was obvious that her friend liked the vampire.

Buffy frowned once more. “He got hurt protecting me. The least I could do was help him.”

“If you say so…” Willow smirked knowingly and Buffy glared at her. Her friend knew her way too well. But that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t want to be attracted to another vampire. She just wanted a normal guy, or as normal as possible… human would be a good start.

“Yes, I do! And how about we focus on something else? Like what the hell happened to the TARDIS in the first place? How did you manage to find another Doctor and why did the TARDIS change like that? Not that I don’t like it… I was just thinking that we could use more seats around here… but this is just weird.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Another reality:**

Dawn groaned. Her whole body hurt. She tried to lie still for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she remembered what happened. They fell out of the TARDIS! No wonder she felt like crap. Opening her eyes Dawn slowly looked around.

“Sam?”

There was no answer. Ignoring the pain in her left arm Dawn sat up. Sam had fallen out of the TARDIS with her. He had to be here somewhere. She had to find him. He could be hurt, or worse… No, she wouldn’t even think about that. He was okay. He just had to be! He fell out of the ship because he tried to hold on to her. If anything happened to him she would never be able to forgive herself!

“Sam!” she called again and pushed herself up. Her left leg hurt badly as well. She probably landed on her left side. Hopefully there was nothing broken.

Wincing Dawn carefully made a step forward. At least her leg seemed to carry her weight. Probably not broken, she thought. Then she glanced around. She was at the edge of a forest. She could be anywhere, even back home. There was a forest like this near the old graveyard in Cleveland. But forests all kind of looked the same, didn’t they?

Dawn pushed away that thought. It didn’t really matter where she was, what mattered was where Sam was, and the others. What happened to the TARDIS? Buffy was still in there, and so was Willow. The Doctor, Rose, Faith, Martha, Dean and Jack had fallen out before she and Sam did. Where they okay? Dawn wished she knew which direction she should be looking for them.

Before she managed to make up her mind a roaring noise startled Dawn. Feeling uneasy she turned around. Some kind of demon was standing a few feet away. It had brown scaly skin, was at least two heads taller than her and had small horns all over his head. It looked vicious, and angry.

“Crap!” That just had to happen. She could barely stand. Of course a demon had to find her when she was in no condition to make up much of a fight or outrun it.

“Sam! Buffy!” There was no answer, but the demon didn’t seem to like her shouting and let out a nasty scream of its own. Then it charged towards her.

Dawn waited until the last moment, then jumped out of the way, landing on the ground hard. The demon ran past her, stopped a few feet away and turned around, fixing its furious eyes on her. Then it rushed towards her once again.

Just before it reached her the demon suddenly started to stumble and made an agonizing kind of noise, as if it was in pain. Then it turned around, screamed furiously and rushed off. Dawn could see a knife sticking in its back.

Pushing herself up Dawn saw Buffy swinging her scythe and attacking the demon. Sam was close behind her, gun in hand. Then he came over and offered Dawn a hand.

“You alright?” he asked as Dawn took his hand and got up with his help.

Dawn nodded and smiled, relieved. Glancing at Buffy she then saw her behead the demon.

“Thanks. That was just in time,” she said. Then she turned back to Sam and hugged him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Someone cleared their throat and Dawn let go of Sam. Standing back a little she noticed that he did look rather uncomfortable. Buffy was raising an eyebrow at her. Next to her stood Riley. Dawn’s eyes widened and she took a step backwards. Then she noticed Rose stepping next to Sam and him putting an arm around her. What the hell? The next second Xander and Anya showed up.

“Oh,” Dawn muttered silently as realization hit her. She had to be in an alternate reality.

“Sorry, I…” Dawn didn’t get to finish the sentence as someone was calling her name.

Turning around Dawn saw Sam coming out of the woods. A smile appeared on her face. That had to be _her_ Sam. But before she could do or say anything Buffy and the other Sam moved in front of her, weapons raised.

“No,” Dawn called. “He’s with me.” She stepped forward, so that she was standing between them and Sam.

“What the…” the other Sam muttered.

“He has to be some kind of shape-shifter,” Riley stated, gun in hand.

“No, he’s not,” Dawn quickly said. “We’re from an alternate reality.” That said Dawn stepped backwards and walked over to Sam.

“What?” the other Sam muttered, but Dawn ignored him for the moment as her eyes took in _her_ Sam, checking for injuries. He seemed fine.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked stepping towards Dawn and looking her up and down as well.

“I’m fine,” she said, then threw her arms around him. He did the same and pulled her even closer to his chest, holding her as if he was afraid she would disappear.

“I was so worried,” he said.

“Me, too,” she admitted into his chest. Then she stepped slightly back and looked up at him. “The others?”

He shook his head. “Haven’t seen any of them.”

“Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion, but what the hell is going on?” Anya asked.

\----- -----

About two hours later Dawn and Sam were sitting on the meadow next to the Slayer School, just outside the magical wards. This reality’s Buffy, Riley, Sam, Rose, Xander and Anya had made sure that they could rest and got everything they needed to patch themselves up, but they didn’t trust them enough to let them into the Slayer Schools’ grounds. Well, at least they brought them chairs and a table from the garden shed. Xander even organized some food.

Dawn ate a sandwich and glanced at the others who were standing a few feet away, probably talking about her and Sam. It was weird to be around people she kind of knew, but who didn’t know her. None of them did. Apparently Buffy didn’t have a sister in this reality. Dawn guessed that Glory was never exiled here from her dimension, which meant that the Key hadn’t been turned into a human being and she was never created. She sighed. She hadn’t really thought about herself as being the Key in a long time. It was just too weird to think about not being real. However, now all those thoughts came back.

Dawn was then distracted by the sight of Rose and the other Sam. He had his arm around her again. It looked like they were a couple. Dawn turned away and glanced at her Sam. Did he like Rose as well? Did she have to worry?

“You okay?” Sam asked leaning towards her. She looked at him and really hoped that she didn’t have anything to worry about. Sam meant so much to her. She had known from the moment she first saw him that he was the one for her. Being with him and getting to know him better only made her feel even more for him. She really didn’t want anything or anyone to come between them.

“Dawn?”

Dawn blinked and focused on Sam, pushing away her fears and uncertainty.

“I’m fine. This is just all a little weird, and I’m worried about Buffy, Faith and the others.”

“Me, too. And yeah, this is rather weird,” Sam agreed, glancing at this reality’s Sam Winchester. Meeting yourself was really, _really_ strange.

“You think they’ll let us stay at the school?” Dawn then asked. She had no idea where they should go otherwise. This reality’s Willow had promised to do a locator spell with them later, to find the others, but the TARDIS had disappeared after they fell out. It might not even be in this reality anymore. If that spell wouldn’t find the others she and Sam were stuck in this world. What would they do then?

“I don’t know. You know them better than I do.”

Dawn frowned. She actually felt like she didn’t know these people at all. They were so different.

Sam watched Dawn as she glanced at Buffy and the others again. She looked worried and sad. He didn’t like to see her like that, and he didn’t like to see her hurt either. He should have kept her safe inside the TARDIS. He wished he had trained more with Ruby. If he had been able to use telekinesis he could have closed the TARDIS door before anyone fell out. As soon as they were back with the others he would ask Ruby to continue their training. He couldn’t let anything like this happen again.

“I’m sure everything will work out somehow,” he then said and took Dawn’s hand. “We’ll find the others.” He didn’t know if it was true, but he wanted to make her feel better. He had barely finished that thought when a breeze started, accompanied by a rather familiar noise. Dawn’s head snapped around and a bright smile appeared on her face. Sam thought that she never looked more beautiful. Then the TARDIS appeared a few feet away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **poster/book cover for this chapter:**
> 
> **picspams for this chapter:**


	15. the Master's plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **LotS-Verse:**

The Doctor held the sonic screwdriver up, waved it around and frowned.

“What is it?” Rose asked.

“I can’t find Faith or Buffy,” he stated, feeling frustrated. He had picked up the signal of a slayer last night, but now there was nothing. At least one of the slayers had been in this world, but now none of them were. What did that mean? Had one or even both of them been injured and died? He sighed, not even wanting to think about that possibility. Whatever happened to them was his fault. He had been stupid enough to fly right into the Master’s trap.  
The Master… maybe he had them. If the Master took them into his TARDIS he might not be able to pick up their slayer powers with the sonic screwdriver. Of course it wouldn’t be good if the Master had them, but at least that would mean that there was a chance that they were alive.

“What about the others? Can you find them?” Rose asked. It definitely wasn’t good if the Doctor couldn’t find Faith and Buffy, but they might still be in the TARDIS, which could be anywhere in time, space, or even another reality.

“… or the TARDIS?”

“The TARDIS isn’t here,” the Doctor said, confirming Rose’s worst fear. “... unless it was shielded from me.”

“Who could do that?”

“The Master.”

Rose frowned. That Master again. Who the hell was the Master and what did he want?

The Doctor sighed and glanced to Rose.

“He laid a trap for us and I flew right into it,” he admitted. “I tried to follow him to find out why he was after you.”

Rose stared at him, not sure what to think. They were supposed to go search for the reality Faith and the others were from. Was the Doctor that concerned for her that he postponed that search and tried to follow the Master? Or did he want to get rid of the threat on her life so that he could bring her home to her family and leave her once more? A part of her felt like that thought was ridiculous and paranoid, but on the other hand, the Doctor had abandoned her. Maybe he really didn’t want to have her around. Had she done something to upset him? She had wondered that a lot already.

Rose was about to ask the Doctor why he went after the Master when he exclaimed:

“HA!”

“What?”

“Found Jack, he’s here.” Swinging the sonic screwdriver around he then pointed in one direction. “That way.”

That said he got onto his horse. Rose did the same, feeling glad that Pete had a few horses on which she had been riding quite a lot over the past years.

Kahlan was already sitting on her horse, looking at the Doctor curiously.

“What kind of magic is that?” she asked gesturing at the device the Doctor was holding.

“Magic? Oh, this isn’t magic,” the Doctor said, but he supposed that it would seem like magic to someone like Kahlan, who wasn’t used to technology. He guessed he would have a lot to tell her, which would keep them busy on their journey and him from worrying too much about his lost companions.

\----- -----

Rose watched as the Doctor and Kahlan talked. They were getting along well and had been talking for hours during their ride. None of them seemed to notice that Rose hadn’t been participating in the conversation in a while. Typical. The Doctor had found another woman that was fascinated by him and seemed to forget her completely. It wasn’t the first time that this happened, Rose thought, remembering Reinette and Sarah Jane. And now there were Kahlan, Martha, Faith, Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Ruby. And that were just the women. There was always someone else. Rose had once believed that the Doctor needed her, but that wasn’t really true. He needed someone. And it wasn’t hard for him to find someone who was willing to travel with him and keep him company. She had kind of known that for a while, since she met Sarah Jane actually, but she hadn’t truly let herself grasp it. She had held on to the belief that she was special to the Doctor.

Rose was pulled out of her thoughts when Kahlan stopped her horse and held a hand up.

“We’re not alone,” she whispered drawing her knives. A moment later a group of women appeared out of the nearby woods. They were all dressed in red.

“Sisters of the dark,” Kahlan said, not sounding happy at all, but before she could say anything else the Doctor jumped off his horse and made a step towards them.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m the Doctor.”

Kahlan frowned and jumped off her horse as well, knives at the ready. Rose quickly followed.

“Yes, nice to meet you, too. Very nice,” one of the women said looking the Doctor up and down, then her eyes travelled to Rose and she looked even more appreciative.

“Very interesting hans.”

The Doctor looked at the woman puzzled, but before he could ask what “hans” were Kahlan stepped in front of him and Rose, her knives held high.

“You will not get their hans!” Kahlan’s voice sounded firm and threatening. The Doctor had never heard her speak like that before. She always seemed so friendly and gentle.

“We will see about that, Confessor.”

The Doctor didn’t like the turn the conversation had taken. “Why don’t we all calm down and talk about this,” he suggested.

“Are you ready to give up your hans willingly?” the woman in red asked.

“I’m sorry?” the Doctor muttered.

“What do you mean by “hans”? Rose asked feeling a little uncertain.

“She means your magic,” Kahlan stated.

The Doctor turned to her, smirking slightly. “I told you, we don’t have any magic.”

“Oh yes, you do,” the woman in red said. “And we will get it, one way or another.” That said she and the other women attacked.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**The Master’s TARDIS:**

Martha woke up startled as a scream echoed through the TARDIS. For a moment she was surprised, unsure why anyone would scream inside the TARDIS. Then she woke up completely and remembered. This wasn’t the Doctor’s TARDIS and neither was it her room. It might look like her room, but that was just another one of the Master’s sadistic tricks. He liked playing with her mind; it was his favourite past time. He had done nothing but use his telepathic abilities to torture her mind over the past days, or was it weeks, months, years? Martha had lost all sense of time. It felt like ages since they had fallen out of the Doctor’s TARDIS, landed on that planet and been captured by the Master and his evil Mistress, Denna.

Another scream echoed through the ship. Faith! Martha jumped out of the bed and went over to the door, but of course it was locked. It was always locked. She was trapped in here and had to listen to Faith’s screams as Denna tortured her, trying to break the slayer.

Martha leaned against the door and sank down to the ground as another scream started. A tear ran down her cheek. She wished so badly that it would stop. She didn’t want to hear any more screams. On the other hand she knew that as long as Faith still screamed they hadn’t succeeded. Faith was still holding on and she was still alive. It probably wasn’t even that long since they came here. There was still hope. The others would find them. The Doctor would come, he always did. He wouldn’t abandon them, and neither would Jack. Oh god, Jack… Another tear ran down Martha’s cheek as she remembered what the Master had shown her. Part of the Master’s psychological torture was making her re-live ‘the year that never was’ in her mind. She saw the destruction of the Earth once more, all the deaths, the slave camps and everything else that happened during that year; she went through it all again and again. But she didn’t just re-live it from her own perspective. She relived it from the Master’s, the Doctor’s, her family’s and Jack’s. The Doctor and her family had suffered a lot, but it was worst for Jack. The Master had taken a ‘liking’ to him, because he could be tortured and killed in every way possible and would still come back for more. Martha trembled slightly at the memories. She probably didn’t even know everything that Jack had been through, but it already hurt so much to think about it. How could Jack still be the person he was? She didn’t think she would be able to, if she was in his place. She probably would never be the same person after this, if she every got out of here. She frowned and sat up straighter. Of course she would get out of here! They would come for them. They’d get her and Faith out of here; she had to keep believing that. She had to hold on to hope, it was all she had left.

\----- -----

Faith smiled up at Jack after he broke their kiss. Being with him was amazing. A second later the scenery around them changed and Jack was gone. Faith was startled for a moment, then she saw Dean coming towards her. The smile on her face widened. Dean reached her and kissed her as well, leaving her breathless. If being with Jack was amazing, being with Dean felt heavenly. It felt just… right.

Faith blinked as Dean vanished, taking the feeling of rightness with him. Her surroundings turned dark and stormy. Then she saw images pop up in front of her, images of people. She knew those faces. They were her victims, people she had killed. Guilt and regret washed over her as well as self-loathing and hatred for what she had done. A few moments later the images disappeared and her surroundings changed once more. Faith glanced around and froze. She knew this place. She had been here before and she instinctively knew what was coming. It was dark and she was back in that alley, the ally where she had killed for the first time…

A scream echoed through the alley, startling Faith, until she realized that it was coming from her. She froze, then her eyes opened, taking in her surroundings. Someone was towering over her.

“I told you, you should be thinking about me when you go to your safe place,” a soothing voice whispered into her ear. “It will help. All you have to do is imagine us together in a wonderful place and you will get through this.”

It sounded so easy, Faith thought. All the pain and suffering would be gone, if she just imagined herself with Denna. Denna would keep her safe from all those horrible memories. Denna didn’t care about her past, she loved her… No! What the hell was she thinking? Denna was an evil torturous bitch! She was in league with the Master and they had captured her and Martha. They were torturing her and probably Martha, too. She couldn’t give in, couldn’t let them win, no matter how much it hurt and no matter how wonderful the idea of no more pain was. She had to stay strong, for herself and for Martha.

Denna frowned. It had looked like Faith was starting to believe her and do what she was told, but, no, that stubborn look was back on her face. She had never encountered anyone as strong as Faith. Not even Richard had held on that long, and he was the Seeker. Plus, that was when she was on her own, now she had the Master’s help. He was in Faith’s mind, manipulating her little ‘safe heaven’, into which her mind resided back to during their torture sessions. As soon as Faith started to feel happy inside her own made up fantasies the Master would destroy them and make her re-live her own worst nightmares. Most people would have broken a long time ago, but not her. The Master said that it was because Faith believed that she deserved exactly what she got now, that she thought she needed to be punished for what she did in the past. Denna snorted at the thought. She had no idea why Faith felt so guilty. She hadn’t done anything worth losing sleep over. And she would soon realize that. Yes, Faith was still holding on, but not for much longer. She would break her, even if it was the last thing she ever did. Gripping her agiel tight Denna brought it down on Faith again until another scream echoed through the TARDIS.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**LotS-Verse:**

Dean groaned and stumbled slightly before clutching at his chest. He tried to regain his footing when hands grabbed and steadied him.

“You okay?”

Dean blinked, then nodded. “Yeah,” he muttered, even though he didn’t really feel okay. He felt drained, worried and pissed off. This was starting to get really annoying. First it had been just this distant feeling, that something was terribly wrong, but now… it was almost physically painful.

“Sit down,” Jack said. Dean complied and leaned against a tree. Then he glanced at Jack, who was hovering in front of him, looking concerned. Did the guy actually care about him? They weren’t exactly friends after all, far from it actually, they were rivals. On the other hand, Jack had never really treated him that way, had he? He had always been friendly. Well, he probably was a nice guy. Faith wouldn’t like him otherwise, would she? And that made the whole situation even worse. If Jack was an idiot or a mean asshole things would be far easier.

“Here, take this,” someone said. Dean took the bottle of water and then glanced at Cara who had given it to him. She looked rather concerned as well.

“I’m fine, really,” Dean said. Then he drank some water and leaned back against the tree again.

“It’s not me you should be worried about anyway.”

Jack frowned and nodded. He had no idea what exactly was going on. Either Dean was paranoid and completely nuts, or he somehow had a psychic link to Faith. And if that was true Jack really didn’t even want to think about what was happening to Faith. Every time Dean had these kinds of ‘episodes’ they were getting worse. He was starting to get concerned for both Faith and Dean.

\----- -----

A few hours later they were walking towards a river. Dean went a little ahead of the others. They were all hovering around him like he might collapse at any moment. He hated it! He was worried about Faith, as well as Sam and the others. He didn’t need people fussing over him like he was a child. He wasn’t sick after all. The wizard had said so as well. He tried to heal him after Cara asked him to, but there was nothing to heal. He wasn’t in pain now either, or felt weird in any way. He was fine… for now.

As soon as he reached the river Dean knelt down, grabbed his bottle - which Cara had insisted he kept – and filled it with water, while the others caught up to him.

“How are you feeling?”

Dean frowned and glanced at Jack who was crouching down a few feet away, drinking some water.

“Will you stop fussing already?” Dean complained. “I’m fine.”

“If you say so...”

Cara and Richard then announced that they would go hunting. Dean didn’t offer to join them.

“I believe there is a spell I could try to find out what is happening to you,” Zedd exclaimed.

“No.”

Zedd raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“No,” Dean repeated firmly. “No magic!” No way was he going to let the wizard do any kinds of magical experiments on him. Something was bound to go wrong. He just knew it. And besides, he didn’t care what was going on with him or why he felt the way he did. What he wanted to know was where Faith was and what was happening to her.

The wizard didn’t say anything else. Instead he walked off, started a fire and prepared everything for when Cara and Richard came back with something to eat.

Dean sat down near the river, looking out over it. Jack soon joined him.

“He’s just trying to help, you know.”

Dean sighed.

“I’m not interested in his kind of help.”

“Magic?”

Dean nodded. “With my luck something would go wrong and I’d end up as a chicken or something.”

Jack laughed slightly.

“Zedd probably wouldn’t mind. I’ve been told he likes chicken soup.”

“Very funny.” Dean glared at Jack.

Jack sighed. “Just trying to lighten up the mood.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“I noticed. You never are.”

Dean glared at Jack once more. Why should he be in the mood for jokes? They were stuck on an alien planet with no technology. Sam was missing and so was everyone else they had been travelling with. Something really nasty was happening to Faith, whom he seemed to share some weird psychic bond with; and he was sitting here with the guy Faith had… well, who knew what with. A relationship? An affair? Casual sex? Whatever it was, he hated it! Oh, and on top of that he had trouble sleeping. Whenever he closed his eyes and tried to rest – which everyone constantly told him to do – he started to remember hell.

Dean quickly pushed away that thought. Thinking about hell so wasn’t a good idea. He then noticed that Jack was talking. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed what the guy said.

“… and you know, you are way too hot to be grumpy all the time.”

Dean’s head snapped around at that. Jack was smirking at him now, in a rather flirty way.

“Are you hitting on me? Seriously?”

Jack laughed at Dean’s disbelieving look, then shrugged. Dean groaned.

“Oh come on it’s not that absurd,” Jack stated.

“I thought you liked women,” Dean said, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

“I don’t discriminate.”

Dean snorted slightly, then crossed his arms in front of his chest. “No offence, dude, but you’re not my type.”

“I’ve heard that before…” Jack said in a suggestive kind of voice.

Dean glared at him. “Seriously man, stop flirting with me! And while we’re at it… stop flirting with every woman I like as well.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at that, but then turned serious.

“How about I stop sleeping with Faith. That’s what you really care about, isn’t it?” he asked. As much as he liked Faith, he had known from the moment Dean showed up that things had changed. There was more between Dean and Faith and he wasn’t about to come between them. Dean was a good guy. Faith deserved to be with someone like him, someone normal. They had a chance at a life together, which was something Jack couldn’t really offer her. Yes, he could spend the rest of her life with Faith, but what kind of life would that be? She’d age while he stayed the same and eventually she would hate him for it or she’d be unhappy at the very least. It was how it always ended. Jack liked Faith way too much to do that to her, especially since there was someone else there that could make her happy, someone he knew she liked.

Dean stared at Jack dumbfounded. Had he just heard right? Was Jack actually offering to back off?

“… not that we are still sleeping together anyway…” Jack continued. “…. It was just that one time before you arrived. Well, not just once…”

Dean frowned. “Seriously? Just shut up.” He really didn’t want to hear that.

Jack smirked slightly. That was exactly the kind of reaction he had hoped for. Now he was sure that he had been right. Dean really did love Faith. It was written all over his face.

“Alright, fair enough,” Jack stated. “She’s all yours though. Just thought you should know.”

Dean wasn’t sure what to think. Part of him felt happy. It looked like Jack was backing off, which meant that his chances with Faith were a lot better all of a sudden. On the other hand he did feel a little mad as well. Why was Jack making it so easy for him? Faith was amazing, she deserved better than that. She was worth fighting for. Jack so didn’t deserve her at all. Dean started to feel sick at the thought that Faith was interested in Jack at all.

“You don’t deserve her anyway,” he snapped while getting up.

Jack frowned. That obviously hadn’t gone as well as he thought. There he was trying to be all selfless and doing what was best for Faith, and what did he get in return… He really wasn’t in the mood for Dean’s attitude.

“Look, I’m just trying to…” he started while getting up as well. Then he saw Dean stumbling and clutching at his chest before starting to fall. Jack quickly stepped forward and caught Dean before he hit the ground.

\----- -----

Dean blinked and slowly opened his eyes. As his vision adjusted he saw several faces above him, all looking down at him with concerned expressions.

“How are you feeling?”

Dean groaned, then sat up quickly before looking around.

“Easy, you should rest,” Jack said. Dean ignored him and got up. He stumbled slightly, but Cara caught and steadied him.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get up already.”

“Shut up,” Dean mumbled, then looked around again.

“Dean…” Jack started, but Dean held up a hand.

“Just shut up for a moment. I…”

“What is it?” Cara asked.

“This is going to sound crazy, but I think I know where Faith is.”

“You what? Where is she?” Jack wanted to know.

Dean turned to Jack, looking a little bewildered. “Well, it’s not really that I know where she is exactly. It’s more like a… feeling. I can’t really explain it. But she’s that way.” He pointed to his left. “We need to go now.”

“Do you think that is a good idea?” Richard asked. “You just collapsed.”

“I. Am. Fine.” Dean looked at each of them in turn, daring them to say anything else. He really wasn’t in the mood for any more of their fussing. Faith was in danger, he simply knew it. And now that he had this weird kind of feeling that was basically drawing him towards her he would be damned if he wasted another second.

“Alright, let’s go.” That said he started to walk.

Jack glanced from Dean to the others, then shrugged before starting to follow Dean. Cara, Richard and Zedd quickly grabbed their belongings, then following as well.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**The Master’s TARDIS:**

Martha gasped for breath, stumbled backwards and then sank down on her bed. She blinked and shook her head, trying to get rid of the memories that she had just been reliving in her mind.

The Master was standing in her room. He had been in her mind again, telepathically manipulating her once more, but then he suddenly stopped. Martha looked up at him, wondering what was going on. Then she froze. The Master was… flickering. It was as if his body changed or disappeared. For a moment he looked almost like a skeleton, not a real one though, it looked more… mechanical.

The Master frowned, cursed and then rushed out of the room.

Martha stared after him stunned.

\----- -----

The Master walked through the control room restlessly. His body was failing. His resurrection had gone wrong thanks to Lucy Saxon. He should never have married that bloody human! He should have killed her instead. But he didn’t. She had killed him, and then she interfered in his resurrection, which was as good as killing him again. Rage boiled inside of him. At the same time his hunger grew as well. He was always hungry these days. He was burning up his own life force which was accompanied by immense hunger. He needed to eat. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Why prolong the inevitable any longer? Why not just die right now and let Denna bring him back? It was what they had done a couple of times already. Whenever his body failed completely she brought him back. It was why he had chosen her as his companion in the first place. She was a Mord Sith, and Mord Sith could bring back the dead, or well, the recently deceased. They had other qualities as well, but this was the most useful to him in his current state. Unfortunately she couldn’t heal his body. She only brought him back, which meant that his body started to fail all over again. He did feel better though, after returning. He was stronger. But he didn’t like it anyway. He was depending on someone else and he hated it. It was why he needed to find Rose Tyler. He had seen in the Doctor’s memories what she could do, what she had become. She was Bad Wolf, an all powerful being. She could resurrect the dead permanently and make them immortal. He had wanted to find her ever since he first saw her in the Doctor’s memories, but now he really did need her. He even had her before the Doctor showed up and took her away. Why did he have to show up at exactly that moment? The Master frowned and pushed away that thought. There was no use in dwelling on the past. He had to concentrate on the future and make sure that his plans would succeed this time.

“DENNA!” he called and sent out a telepathic message at the same time.

It didn’t take long for his companion to show up. The Mord Sith entered the room and casually leaned against the wall, positioning her body in a sensual way. Most men would forget any coherent though in her presence, but the Master barely noticed her.

“How is your training coming along?” he asked.

“It is going well, Master,” she replied, a smile appearing on her lips.

The Master’s eyes fixed on her. “Is it? I was under the impression that you should have broken that slayer weeks ago!” he barked, feeling frustrated and annoyed.

“Well, as you said, she is a slayer,” Denna replied. “And she has that weird belief that she deserves…”

“Yes, yes… I KNOW ALL THAT. I was the one who told you about it in the first place.”

Denna winced slightly at his tone of voice, but a smile soon returned to her face.

“I am making progress. I think she is almost ready. As you should be aware of her fantasies are of me now. She believes that her friends have abandoned and betrayed her. Her spirit is broken. Soon she will be mine… ours to command.”

“If her spirit is already broken, what are we waiting for then?” the Master snapped. “I need her to get Rose Tyler NOW!”

“Patience, Master….”

“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR PATIENCE!”

“There is a finale test…”

“I am aware of that. It is my body that is failing, not my mind! I do remember what you have told me. And since Faith’s parents are dead I have arranged for someone else to come.”

“It needs to be someone she deeply cares about. In order for her to truly be mine… ours, she needs to kill someone that was important to her once.”

“I know that. Like I said, I have arranged everything. He is on his way.”

“Good. Let’s get him. As soon as I broke him and he tells her that he betrayed her she can…”

“No, I am tired of waiting. She will kill him NOW!” That said the Master went over to the console and brought the TARDIS back to Denna’s planet. Then he turned on the screen. A grin appeared on his face as he watched Dean Winchester talking to Jack Harkness. His smile widened. Soon his plans would unfold and on top of it he would get Jack Harkness back as well. He had missed his favourite immortal toy. There were still a few ways left in which he hadn’t killed the man yet…

“We shouldn’t rush….”

The Master turned to face Denna, his eyes boring into hers. She stopped talking at once.

“That’s better. Now, where were we…? Right…” He concentrated, thought of one of his favourite torture sessions with Faith and telepathically projected them. Then he watched on the screen as Dean Winchester stumbled and fell. A wide grin appeared on the Master’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **poster/book cover for this chapter:**
> 
>   
> 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot to my beta landiana24 on lj for betaing this chapter again. :-)

**LotS-Verse:**

“This is ridiculous,” Ten called while ducking a blast of magic thrown towards him.

“We don’t have any magic!” he repeated. 

“If you don’t think you have any magic you won’t miss it. So why not just give it up?” one of their attackers called before shooting something that looked a lot like lightning at the Doctor. Kahlan pulled him out of the way just in time and pushed him behind a large tree.

“Thanks,” the Doctor muttered, then looked around for Rose. 

“Rose?”

“Over here,” she called from behind another tree. “What exactly is it they want from us?”

“Your mag…” Kahlan started, but was quickly interrupted by the Doctor.

“I keep telling you, we don’t have any,” he insisted.

“Maybe you call it something different, but if they say you have magic then you do. They can _feel_ it,” Kahlan told him.

The Doctor sighed. Maybe magic did mean something else on this planet, in this reality. He didn’t even know where they were. Maybe things were different here, and honestly, who cared what they called it? They obviously wanted something from them very badly, and if Kahlan was right and they could feel what they wanted, it obviously had to exist, didn’t it?

“Maybe they can feel your timelord abilities,” Rose suggested. _And my immortality, or even what is left of Bad Wolf_ , she added in thoughts. She wished she could somehow tap into Bad Wolf right now, but unfortunately she had no idea how to do it. Maybe the Doctor really had pulled it all out of her, but sometimes she felt like he hadn’t. It was almost as if she could feel something else inside of her, something ancient and powerful. Right now however she felt completely and utterly human. Well, she couldn’t die, but that wouldn’t actually help defeat those witches or whatever they were.

The Doctor looked at Rose. He guessed someone who believed in magic could attribute his abilities to magic. That wouldn’t explain what they wanted from her, but it was a possibility.

“Well, they can’t have those,” he stated, matter of fact.

“So you do have magic,” Kahlan said before throwing a knife that was promptly deflected, flew back towards them and landed in the tree she and the Doctor were standing behind.

“What can you do?” she added sounding hopeful. 

The Doctor couldn’t blame her for hoping there was something he could do. They were greatly outnumbered and there wasn’t much they could do against magical blasts. Kahlan would soon run out of knives as well, which probably was the only thing slowing their attackers down at all.

“Nothing that will help us,” the Doctor muttered frustrated. “Maybe we should try talking to them…”

“Because that worked so well the first time you tried,” Rose muttered sarcastically.

The Doctor stared at her. He really did miss supportive and cheerful Rose. “You have any better ideas?” he shot back.

“I do,” Kahlan interrupted. “You two run while I hold them back.”

“We’re not leaving you,” the Doctor objected.

Kahlan turned to face him, her look grim. “When they capture you they will take your han by force, killing you painfully in the process. You want that? No? Then run! I can protect myself. I am the Mother Confessor!” she said, feeling frustrated. Of course Sisters of the Dark had to show up when neither Zedd nor Cara or Richard, who could all deflect magic, were there. She really missed her friends more than ever at that moment. Her only hope was to get her hands on one of the Sisters of the Dark and confess her so that she could control her and make her fight against her sisters long enough for all of them to escape.

The Doctor stared at her, torn between wanting to get Rose safely away, admiring Kahlan’s courage and wanting to tell her that he would never leave her behind. But he knew he would have to make a decision soon. They were running out of time.

Luckily a rather familiar sound saved the Doctor from having to make that decision.

“What?” he muttered, his head snapping around as the TARDIS materialized a few feet away. How could the TARDIS come here? No one but him could fly it… well, except for the Master.

“Got yourself into a bit of trouble again, I see,” a man said opening the TARDIS door. He was slim, had brown hair, wore a bow tie and was _not_ the Master… unless he had regenerated. 

Before the Doctor had a chance to reply another one of those lighting blasts shot towards the TARDIS and the man was pushed down by Buffy. The next second the slayer rushed out and stopped behind a tree.

“What… how did you get here?” the Doctor called.

“Got ourselves another Doctor,” Buffy called with a smirk and gestured at the man she had pushed down. He was behind a tree now, waving around a sonic screwdriver.

“Fascinating,” he called, then beamed at Ten. “Hello. Always a pleasure to meet myself. Amy, stay in the TARDIS!” 

Ten stared at the man, his mind racing. He didn’t remember ever looking like that, which meant that if this man really was the Doctor he was a future regeneration of him.

“What is he talking about?” Kahlan asked.

“How about we sort that out later,” Buffy suggested. “Seems like we have some witches to take care of right now. Willow!”

“Right here,” came the reply just before the redhead stepped out of the TARDIS.

“Be careful,” Ten called, but it was too late. A lightning blast rushed past him, heading directly for Willow. His eyes widened as he stared at the scene in horror. But just before it hit her Willow held out her hand and the blast stopped, then simply vanished.

“More interesting hans,” a voice called appreciatively, but Ten thought he detected a hint of unease as well.

“Think you can take ‘em?” Buffy asked looking at her friend.

“How about we don’t wait to find out,” Rose suggested. “There’s at least six of them!”

“I second that,” Willow agreed. “Get into the TARDIS. I’ll hold them off while you do.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**The TARDIS:**

Once inside the TARDIS Ten froze.

“What…,” he muttered.

“The TARDIS crashed…,” Eleven interrupted and started to explain.

“Into my garden shed… _again_ ,” a redhead Ten had never seen before said.

“Had to fix it,” Eleven went on, ignoring the redhead.

“He changed a few things, too,” Buffy butted in slamming the door shut behind Willow. “I kind of like it.” 

“I can see that,” Ten muttered, though he knew that it was really the TARDIS herself who decided when to change. He could kind of understand it, too. The new décor was better suited for so many companions. Still, he would have to get used to the new look. He did like it, but he already missed his old control room as well.

The next second the TARDIS shook.

“How about we get out of here,” Amy suggested, stumbling slightly.

“Right,” the Doctors both said at the same time and walked towards the console.

“So… future regeneration…” Ten mumbled while familiarizing himself with the new console.

Eleven grinned and made the TARDIS fly off just as Amy joined them at the console.

“So, you’re really _him_?” she asked looking at Ten curiously. “He doesn’t look younger than you,” she observed glancing at her Doctor.

Eleven smirked slightly, then gestured between them. “Doctor, Amy. Amy, meet… _me_. And yes, he is younger… and from an alternate reality, still me though.”

“New companion?” Ten asked trying not to seem too excited at the prospect of meeting a future version of himself and possibly a future companion.

“I don’t want to interrupt, but where’s everyone else?” Rose asked joining them with Kahlan who looked around the TARDIS with wide eyes. Rose knew she should probably talk to Kahlan, make her feel more at ease in this strange place, but seeing a future version of the Doctor, who had yet another new companion, made her emotions run high. Would it never stop? And why did they all have to be so pretty?

“Sam took Dawn to her room. She’s resting after being attacked by a demon,” Buffy said. “She’s okay though.”

“Rory went with them to patch her up,” Amy added. “Not that you know Rory… he’s my husband, and a nurse.”

“Oh,” Rose muttered. Husband… well, at least this companion was married for a change. That meant she wasn’t interested in the Doctor in _that_ way, right?

“No idea where Ruby and Eric went,” Willow said. “Eric had to leave when we opened the TARDIS and it was day outside. And Ruby… well, who knows.” She shrugged.

“Maybe she left for good,” Buffy muttered sounding hopeful.

“Buffy,” Willow exclaimed in a chiding voice.

“What? Don’t tell me you’d miss the demon,” Buffy went on.

“We are trying to locate the rest of your companions now,” Eleven stated ignoring the chatter going on around them.

“Ha, found Jack,” he added with a grin. He was rather looking forward to seeing his immortal friend again. “He’s on this planet.”

“Then lets go get him,” Rose said.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**The Master’s TARDIS:**

Martha could hardly believe it, but her door had actually been unlocked. When the Master rushed off in a hurry earlier he must have forgotten to lock it. Sneaking through the TARDIS she tried to find Faith, but hadn’t had any luck so far. Just like the Doctor’s TARDIS this one was huge. However, Faith couldn’t be that far away, since Martha had always been able to hear Faith’s screams. As that thought came to her Martha realized that she hadn’t heard any screams all day. Her heart started to beat faster as she tried not to think about what the implications of that could be. Surely Faith was alright, she just had to be!

Martha’s mind was still trying to come up with logical reasons for why Faith had been silent for such a long time when someone suddenly stepped around a corner, facing her. Martha stopped dead, but relaxed when she noticed that it was Faith. A smile appeared on her lips. There it was, the most logical reason of all: Faith had escaped as well. 

“Faith,” Martha said silently. She stepped towards her friend, ready to hug her when Faith suddenly lunged forward and hit her in the chest, knocking the air right out of her. Then the slayers fist connected with her jaw, making her stumble backwards until she hit the wall.

Pain rushed through Martha as she sank down to the ground. 

“Well done,” a voice said and Martha noticed Denna behind Faith, a wide smile on her face.

Martha blinked and looked from Denna to Faith who was now towering over her. What the hell had just happened? Faith couldn’t really have hit her, could she?

“Don’t look so shocked,” Denna said. “I told you I’d break her. It was only a matter of time.”

Denna then turned to Faith. “Let’s take her to the Master.”

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Once in the control room Faith dragged Martha towards the console and pushed her down hard.

“Ah, I see, you came to witness my success,” the Master said beaming at Martha.

Martha winced slightly as she pushed herself up and glared at the Master. She really didn’t want to witness anything the Master was doing. Her eyes travelled to Faith. She still couldn’t believe that her friend had hit her! Had she gone over to the Master’s side to escape further torture? Was she maybe pretending to be on their side until she saw an opportunity for them to escape? Or was Denna right? Had she actually broken Faith? Was the Faith she knew gone? No, she couldn’t be!

“You re-captured her,” Faith said looking at Denna and the Master before glaring at Martha.

Martha blinked, unsure what Faith meant. She was the one who caught her after all.

“Of course we did. I promised that you would be able to get your revenge on her for abandoning you when she escaped with the others who came for her and didn’t even think about you for a second when leaving,” Denna said stepping next to Faith and brushing a strand of hair out of the slayers face in a loving way. 

Martha’s eyes widened. “Is that what they told you?” she asked, staring at Faith. “I never…”

“Lies,” Denna said while leaning into Faith and playing with the slayers hair. 

“… left,” Martha finished. “And never would have without you!”

“Shut up,” Faith shouted, stalked over to Martha and hit her again.

“Now, now,” the Master said in a chiding voice. “I want her alive to witness my… our triumph.”

“He is right, Faith. Leave her,” Denna agreed.

Faith narrowed her eyes but stopped, then pushed Martha away from her hard.

Denna grinned before pulling Faith towards her and kissing her passionately.

Martha stared up at them unbelievingly while trying not to move her aching body much. This could not be happening!

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**LotS-Verse:**

“We’re almost there,” Dean said walking faster and pulling out his gun. 

Jack followed his example and pulled his gun out, too. Walking swiftly he took in their surroundings, looking for any kind of danger.

A moment later they stepped into a clearing. The first thing Jack noticed was the TARDIS, standing a few feet away. He smiled, relieved to see the ship. Then his eyes fell on Martha, who was on the ground nearby, gagged, bleeding out of several wounds and holding her arm to her chest tightly. Anger rushed through Jack at the sight of her like that, but he pushed it away for now. Next to Martha on the ground was a blond woman dressed in white leather, similar to what Cara was wearing. She seemed to be unconscious. Over her stood Faith, wearing some kind of cloak. In her hand was a thick branch. She must have knocked the blonde out, Jack thought. Maybe Faith didn’t really need their help after all.

“Faith,” Dean called and rushed towards her, putting his gun away.

“Dean, wait,” Cara called from behind them, her voice sounding urgent. 

Jack stopped and glanced at Cara, but Dean ignored her, too fixated on Faith.

“It’s a trap!” Cara shouted.

\----- -----

Dean rushed towards Faith happily. He had feared the worst after what he felt through their weird bond, but she was okay. She was standing just a few feet away. 

“Faith,” he called. She turned to him and smiled. A wide smile appeared on his own face. Then he heard Cara’s words and stopped a few steps away from Faith.

“What do you mean?” he called over his shoulder just as Faith threw away the branch. Before Cara could answer Faith moved, dropping the cloak she was wearing. Dean had a moment to admire Faith wearing the same skin tight leather outfit Cara did before she attacked him with the same kind of sticks Cara had.

Years of training and the knowledge that just because something looked like someone you knew didn’t mean that it actually was the person you knew made Dean react instinctively. He stepped to the side a second before Faith’s stick would have touched him, then ducked her next swing while noticing that the blonde who had been on the ground stood up and came towards them. Great! He really didn’t think she was on his side.

Sure enough the blonde attacked him as well, making him stumble as he tried to avoid her blow. One of the sticks hit his arm and immense pain rushed through his body as he fell backwards. A moment later the stick was knocked away from his body and Dean saw Cara fighting off the blonde while Richard faced Faith, or whatever the hell it was that pretended to be Faith. 

Realizing that the pain that had rushed through his body a moment ago was gone Dean pushed himself up. He didn’t know what was going on, but he guessed he would find out soon enough. 

“Don’t hurt her,” he called to Richard who was swinging his sword. Dean didn’t know if this really was Faith or something impersonating her, but he wasn’t willing to take any chances with Faith’s life. Before he knew what was really going on no one was going to hurt or worse, kill ‘Faith’.

“She’s a Mord Sith,” Richard answered gesturing at Faith’s clothes.

“So?” Dean asked while picking up the branch Faith had thrown away earlier and joining the fight. He had no idea what a Mord Sith was and all the clothes told him was that he really liked the way women dressed in this world.

“She’s no longer the woman you knew, Dean. Denna turned her against you,” Richard stated and briefly gestured at the blonde.

“She tortured her until she broke,” Cara clarified. “The woman you knew is gone.”

Dean turned to look at Cara, his eyes wide. Tortured? Gone? That couldn’t be true! His mind refused to believe that he had lost Faith, and he didn’t even want to think about Faith being tortured. But there was no time to think about it anyway. They were in the middle of a fight after all.

\----- -----

When Cara and Richard joined the fight Jack went over to Martha, kneeling down next to her while still keeping an eye on the fight. Narrowing his eyes he got rid of the gag.

“You okay?” he asked in a concerned voice. She didn’t really look okay, but he guessed anything less than life-threatening would count as okay in their current situation.

Martha winced but nodded. “A few bruises, cuts, and a broken arm,” she summed it up.

“I can heal her,” Zedd offered crouching down next to them.

Jack glanced at him, then nodded. Dean might be against magic, but he wasn’t Dean, and he definitely wouldn’t let Martha suffer a second longer than she had to, if he could help it.

“Zedd’s a wizard, Martha. He can help you.”

“Nice to meet you, Martha,” Zedd said while holding out his hand over Martha’s arm.

“A wizard?” Martha asked staring at Jack.

Jack nodded with a slight smirk. He could see that Martha was about to protest or ask a question, but instead her eyes went to her arm, widening in surprise.

“The pain is gone,” she said and started to flex her arm.

Jack turned from Martha to Zedd who smiled, then moved his hand over Martha’s cuts and bruises. They disappeared one after the other.

“Wow,” Jack muttered.

“How did you do that?” Martha wanted to know, looking at Zedd in awe. Jack couldn’t blame her, he felt slightly in awe, too.

“Magic, my dear. I am Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, wizard of the first order.” 

“Martha Jones,” she said with a smile. “Nice to meet you, too, and thank you.”

“You are very welcome.”

“So, with all that magic, is there anything you can do about that?” Jack asked gesturing at the fight nearby.

“I’m afraid not,” Zedd answered sounding glum. “I am rather useless against Mord Sith. They can deflect magic, turning it back against its wielder,” he explained while getting up.

“Of course they can,” Martha muttered while getting up as well.

Jack frowned, not liking the look on Martha’s face. “You okay?” he asked once more.

“Fine,” Martha stated with a sigh. “It’s just been a rough couple of weeks.”

“Weeks?” Jack asked surprised.

“Yes. The Master…,” Martha began, then stopped, suddenly realizing who was missing. “Where is he anyway?”

“Right here,” a voice said. 

Jack spun around just before something bright hit him in the chest, knocking him off his feet.

\----- -----

“Jack,” Martha screamed rushing to his side. Dropping to her knees she quickly felt for a pulse. There was none. She sucked in a breath and tried to remind herself that Jack would be fine. He always was. He’d wake up in a few minutes and be okay. Still, seeing Jack dead was awful, and no matter how often she’d see him die she would never get used to it.

Tearing her eyes away from Jack Martha looked up just in time to see Zedd deflect another blast the Master sent their way, probably meant for her this time. The Master’s eyes widened as the blast hit him in the chest sending him flying backwards.

“Nice,” she called grinning at Zedd. The wizard smiled briefly, then rushed to her and examined Jack quickly.

“Cara!” he called concerned. “Get over here before it is too late.”

“He’ll be fine,” Martha said trying to reassure Zedd. 

“Richard,” Cara called gesturing for him to hold off Denna so she could go over to Jack. Judging by Zedd’s words Jack was dead and she only had a brief amount of time to bring him back with the breath of life before it would be too late.

Richard nodded at her and started fighting Denna, leaving Dean to deal with Faith.

Cara was just passing Richard on her way to Jack when another one of those bright blasts hit Richard in the chest, making him fly backwards.

“No,” Cara screamed as she caught Richard and lowered him to the ground. She was faintly aware of Zedd throwing wizarding fire at the stranger that had sent the blasts while checking on Richard. He was dead, too. Panic rushed through her as she glanced at Jack then back to Richard. Would she be able to save them both?

“Don’t worry about Jack,” Martha said joining the blonde at the man’s side. “He’ll wake up any second.” She was about to feel for a pulse when she suddenly heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS. Her head snapped around until she spotted the ship materializing a few feet away. The door opened before the ship was fully visible and a woman rushed out, coming towards them.

“Richard!” Kahlan called anxiously. She had seen what happened from inside the TARDIS. The Doctor had a screen that magically let them see what happened elsewhere. And he claimed he had no magic! 

Kahlan sank down beside Richard just as Cara gave him the breath of life. She waited for a moment, then Richard finally opened his eyes and blinked up at her. 

“Kahlan?” he asked uncertainly.

“I’m right here,” she answered before leaning down and kissing him.

After giving Richard the breath of life Cara turned around and went over to Jack who was still on the ground. 

“He’ll be okay,” the black woman said joining her once more. 

“He’s dead,” Cara objected before leaning down and giving Jack the breath of life as well. Nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing.

“No… Jack,” she called shaking him slightly.

“I told you, he’ll be okay,” Martha said placing a hand on the woman’s arm. “He can’t die. Jack… he’s immortal,” she said. The woman obviously cared about Jack – didn’t they all, Martha thought for a moment as her other hand found Jack’s lifeless one and took it into hers - and she didn’t want the blonde to think that Jack was dead, like Faith did. “He comes back to life whenever he dies.”

Cara stared at the woman. Could that be true? The breath of life hadn’t worked. Could he come back anyway? Or hadn’t it worked because he was different?

“We just have to wait a bit.”

Cara nodded, then turned and looked around for the man that had killed Richard and Jack. While they waited for Jack to hopefully wake up again there was someone that needed to be killed.

\----- -----

“Denna!” the Master roared ducking the wizards’ fire balls. She was by his side in a matter of moments and the wizard backed off. But the Master barely had time to enjoy his temporary victory as the TARDIS materialized a few feet away.

“Nooo!” he screamed annoyed before turning to Faith who was still fighting with Dean.

“Kill him!” he called. “Now!” His plan to turn Faith into a Mord Sith and make her his in secret had obviously failed. He might no longer be able to sneak her back in with the Doctor’s companions to kidnap Rose from right under the Doctor’s nose, but he’d be damned if he let the slayer slip from his grasp now. She would still be a useful asset, and she’d be his as soon as she killed Dean, the man she used to love, whom she thought had betrayed her. The process would be complete and she’d be a Mord Sith as soon as she killed him. Unfortunately Faith still hadn’t done it. She was a slayer and had agiels, which caused immense pain with a single touch! Why wasn’t Dean Winchester dead yet?  
People were rushing out of the TARDIS, ready to join the fight. At least one of them was a slayer, too. Another was a witch. Then there was the Doctor and a lot of other wildcards. He was running out of time. 

As anger rushed through him the Master started to flicker then turned towards Dean. If Faith didn’t kill him he would! Maybe that would work as well, and if not, who cared?

\----- -----

Faith finally had Dean alone. The Master had taken care of the other man. Dean was hers now, hers to kill and take her revenge. He had betrayed her, left her to be tortured while running off with Martha. Yes, she deserved it, but Dean didn’t know that. She had never told him about her past and the others wouldn’t tell him, would they?

“Why?” she asked as her agiel hit Dean in the chest making him stumble in pain and fall to the ground.

“Why?” she screamed glaring at him furiously. 

“Why what?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Why wasn’t she good enough for him? Why didn’t he care about her? Why did he abandon her? She didn’t get to voice and of it. The Master screamed at her to kill Dean. Yes, she had to kill him. Dean deserved to die! She took a step forward.

“You want to kill me? Well, here I am,” Dean said pushing himself up on shaky legs. “Do it if you can.”

Faith stared at him, hesitating for a moment as their eyes locked. She blinked and for a moment felt unsure about what to do. Then she saw the Master a few feet away. He was flickering again, right before shooting one of those lightning blasts at Dean.

“Nooo,” she screamed and jumped forward, pushing Dean out of the way.

“Faith!” 

Dean screaming her name was the last thing Faith heard before immense pain rushed through her and she blacked out.

* * *

**poster/book cover for this chapter:**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **poster/book cover for this chapter:**


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